Voting Rights Update
March 27, 2001

McKinney introduces Voters' Choice Act and other federal bills on alternative voting methods  New demographic patterns in North Carolina make minority opportunity districts more difficult  Illinois analysis shows cumulative voting was a gateway for black representation in state legislature  New poll shows strong public support for government paying for modern voting equipment    Here is a short introduction to today's update: On March 22, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) introduced HR 1189, the Voters' Choice Act. As with previous versions of the bill, it would allow states to use multi-seat House districts (as was legal before 1967) if using a proportional voting system. In a new addition, the bill would express the sense of Congress that states should adopt instant runoff voting for allocating electoral votes in the presidential race. Rep. McKinney provided testimony on these subjects at a February hearing: see fairvote.org/op_eds/mckinney.htm. Look for more legislation on alternative voting methods soon. Previously introduced bills this session include HR 57, which would create a commission that would study proportional voting systems and instant runoff voting, among other reform proposals, and HR 506, which would create a commission on representation to study the size of the House of Representatives and alternative methods of electing it, including proportional representation. Below are three items of note. The first is a Winston-Salem Journal articles that discusses how population shifts in the state -- with a shift toward the suburbs -- could make it more difficult to draw black-majority districts. On a similar note, the Austin American Statesman reported last week that it is unlikely that the dramatic growth in the Latino population in Texas will translate immediately into more Hispanics in the state's congressional delegation because "Hispanics are driving the growth in many cities but often aren't clustered to create congressional districts easily." Such demographic developments make the analysis below of representation of black state legislators in Illinois under cumulative voting all the more relevant. From 1870 to 1980, the state used cumulative voting to elect the state house of representatives, with three house members elected from one senate district; the "victory threshold" was 25% of the vote, meaning that any grouping of voters of at least 25% of the vote had a guaranteed opportunity to win one of three seats. For most of the last century that the state used cumulative voting, blacks had a higher share of seats in the house (elected by cumulative voting) than in the senate (elected by winner- take-all in one-seat districts). For five elections from 1956 to 1966, the trend was particularly dramatic, with the house having nine times as many blacks as the senate. During this period, it would appear that there was only one black-majority senate district (also electing three house seats), meaning that at least six black house members apparently were winning seats in non-black-majority districts under cumulative voting. The final item below is a wire story on a new poll showing very strong public support for government funds going to purchase new modern voting equipment. In the wake of last year's chaotic election, some may have expected change to come quickly. Even though that change has not happened, I believe that it will come as long as reformers keep demanding improvements. The Bush administration would like people to forget the close election, but it will be continually embarrassed by stories from elections held with antiquated voting equipment and poor procedures to educate voters until changes are made. For regular updates on electoral reform, see stateline.org. Finally, for those of you in the Washington, DC area, I would encourage you to attend a panel discussion on Thursday evening on proportional voting systems and other alternatives to plurality voting. Sponsored by Congressional Black Associates, the event will take place from 6 to 8 pm on March 29 in the 1539 Longworth House Office Building. Speakers include me and Congressman Roy Blunt (R-MO, former Secretary of State), Congressman James Clyburn D-SC(tentative), Ed Jackson (w/ the Advancement Project), Professor Lorenzo Morris (Howard University) and Ed Still ( w/ the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law). For more information please contact Artemesia Stanberry at 225-3101 or [email protected] As always, we encourage you to peruse our website (fairvote.org) for the latest additions.... Rob "Population shift may hit black politicians harder: N.C. suburbs gain more residents, census finds" By David Rice, Winston-Salem Journal, Mar 23, 2001 New census numbers for North Carolina showed this week that the state's suburbs - particularly those in Wake and Mecklenburg counties - will gain political clout next year at the expense of urban and rural areas. What also became apparent is that the suburbs' gains could come at the expense of black politicians as legislators draw new districts for themselves this year. Although majority-black districts didn't necessarily lose population, they didn't grow nearly as much as other parts of the state. Some black voters moved to the suburbs themselves. So districts with strong black majorities saw shrinkage as a portion of the entire state's population. "Very serious shrinkage," said state Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham, one of just two black members of the House who are elected at large. "I don't know what you do about it. I really don't," Michaux said. "I've been looking at it, and there are a whole lot of people in trouble with respect to minority districts, with the possibility of some being squeezed out." Of the 16 state House districts that elect black representatives, all but two - the suburban Mecklenburg district represented by Rep. Beverly Earle and the urban Raleigh district of Rep. Dan Blue, both Democrats - fell below the population target of 67,078 people per member that legislators will use when they draw new lines for the House this year. The Winston-Salem district represented by Rep. Pete Oldham, D-Forsyth, is 10,411 people short of the target, and the district of Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth, falls 9,371 short. The two-member House district represented by Democratic Reps. Mary McAllister and Marvin Lucas in Cumberland County is 36,385 people short of the people needed for a two-member district. As a result, the black politicians' districts could become whiter as voters are added to even the numbers. To add voters to Womble's district, for example, mapmakers might have to reach into the suburban districts represented by white Republicans Michael Decker and Theresa Esposito, which have populations well over the target numbers. Decker's district exceeds the 67,078 target by 8,667 people, while Esposito's is over the target by 5,289. Though the prospect of adding white voters to black districts worries some black politicians, Womble says he's not among them. Womble pointed out that he represented Winston-Salem's southeast ward as a city alderman even when the ward was 65 percent white. "I still won even when it was majority white," he said yesterday. "I'm not concerned about the racial makeup of the district. I've always been concerned about giving service to whoever is in that district." Michaux says that the relative shrinkage of majority-black districts could have white and black Democrats fighting over black voters as they redraw the lines. "I've heard a lot of white Democrats say, 'You've got to put more blackfolks in my district,' " he said yesterday. "The whole thing is going to create some problems when you have black members trying to hold on to what they've got or enhance it, when you have white Democrats looking for more black voters and you have Republicans trying to create single-member districts for black folks so they can lessen the Democratic base," Michaux said "It's going to be a problem trying to satisfy everybody." The chairman of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, state Sen. Luther Jordan, D-New Hanover, is aware of the trends. Jordan's own district is 45,430 people short of the 160,986 that will be required in each state Senate district. "I think we're going to have to keep all our options open. I think a lot of districts that are minority districts are going to have to pick up Republican-style voters," Jordan said. "We are concerned, but we want to make sure we stick to the letter of the law and keep the feds happy," he said. The federal Voting Rights Act forbids drawing districts to dilute minority voting strength, and 40 counties in the state are subject to a section of the act that forbids "retrogression," or the worsening of minority voting strength. Court challenges, including repeated challenges to the state's winding 12th Congressional District, have also established that lawmakers can't let race dominate the drawing of district lines. Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson and a co-chairman of the House committee that will redraw lines, said that House leaders will have to come to terms with the population shifts. "It's something we're certainly going to look at," he said. "It would not be our objective to create less minority districts. But there may be circumstances where you have a minority district that has less minority population in it. And we have proven with Congressman (Mel) Watt that you can shrink the minority percentage and still have a successful minority candidate." "Black Representation Under Cumulative Voting in Illinois" From 1870 to 1980, Illinois used cumulative voting to elect member of the State House of Representatives. Candidates ran in three-seat constituencies. These three-seat house districts also were used to elect a single state senator. This chart records how many black legislators were elected in each election between 1900 and 1978. Cumulative voting clearly provided a powerful gateway for black representation: black candidates were elected earlier than likely would have happened with single-member districts and, for most of the period, likely in bigger numbers. The state senate lagged far behind in black representation until the mid-1960s, when reapportionment in the wake of Supreme Court rulings on "one person, one vote" led to more equitable representation of Chicago. These numbers do not provide details about these black representatives and their district. Based on the state senate results, however, it is nearly certain that most black members of the House of Representatives in 1954-1964 were elected in white-majority districts. After 1964, blacks in the state senate and house probably were represented in comparable proportions because there were so few districts outside of Chicago where blacks made up at least 25% of the adult population (25% being the share of the vote necessary to ensure winning a seat). Put into a 21st century context, the history of cumulative voting in Illinois suggests that dispersed populations -- such as blacks in much of the South and Asian Americans and Latinos in much of the country -- would do well with cumulative voting and proportional systems.   Year House Senate 1894 3 0 1896 1 0 1898 2 0 1900 2 0 1902 2 0 1904 1 0 1906 1 0 1908 1 0 1910 1 0 1912 1 0 1914 2 0 1916 2 0 1918 3 0 1920 3 0 1922 3 0 1924 4 0 1926 4 1 1928 4 1 1930 5 1 1932 4 1 1934 4 1 1936 5 1 1938 4 1 1940 4 1 1942 5 1 1944 5 1 1946 5 1 1948 4 1 1950 4 1 1952 4 1 1954 6 1 1956 9 1 1958 9 1 1960 9 1 1962 9 1 1964 9 1 1966 11 4 1968 13 4 1970 13 5 1972 14 5 1974 15 5 1976 14 6 1978 15 6 1980 15 6   (Notes: 1) Three black state legislators served a total of 14 terms from 1877-1895. 2) There were also interesting patterns of black legislators' service. In the senate, all legislators served consecutive years of service. In the house, however, numerous legislators had discontinuous service, likely indicating real competition -- probably in primaries.) "Poll Says Americans Want Modernized Voting System" Tuesday March 27 6:57 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans think their voting system needs a technological overhaul but draw the line at voting on the Internet, a new study released on Tuesday showed. According to the report, 69 percent of the 1,000 Americans surveyed in early March believed using new technologies for voting would produce more accurate results. An almost equal number -- 61 percent -- said they would approve tax dollars if it was used to improve the existing voting system. The outcome of the 2000 presidential election was delayed for a month by voting discrepancies, forced recounts and court battles over ballots in Florida. ``Clearly, the American public wants to see their states and communities modernize voting technologies,'' said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, which sponsored the survey with Unisys Corp . Just one third of the people surveyed, most of them between the ages of 18 and 24, thought the Web should be used for voting. But most surveyed said they thought the Internet should be used to provide election information, with 71 percent saying local elections boards should establish Web sites containing voter registration status, sample ballots and polling locations. The survey, conducted March 5-8, had a margin of error of 3.1 percent