Manassas Park Granted Bailout by Three Federal Judges

The federal government will no longer closely watch Manassas Park’s voter registration duties, now that three district court judges have granted the city an exemption from a law purposed to protect minorities from discriminatory acts.

The judges issued a declaratory judgment this week, granting the city a bailout or, exemption from the provisions of section 4(b) and section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, according to federal court documents filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. 

Since the mid-1960s, the law has required the city of Manassas Park and other jurisdictions to receive pre-clearance from the federal government before they made any changes pertaining to voting.

 The city wasn’t even allowed to switch voting operations to different rooms in the same building without letting the federal government know first, Manassas Park officials said.

The law was meant to prevent officials from discriminating against blacks and other minorities during the voting process.

 City officials said the law did its job then, but is now more of a hindrance to work being carried out in an efficient manner.

 Any request the city makes to the U.S. Department of Justice takes 60 days to process, not to mention the time it takes to file the paperwork.

 The extra federal oversight is expensive for city and county governments and requests for bailouts have become more common in the past 10 years as a way for local governments to cut costs.

  Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act allows jurisdictions to petition for a “bailout” of some provisions, which requires an investigation by the U.S. Attorney General of the jurisdiction’s election process and a 10-year history of flawless of civil rights complaints or problems.

 According to court documents, Manassas Park was required to present evidence of many things, including proof it had taken steps to do away with anything that would inhibit or dilute equal access to the electoral process.

 The city has made provisions in its voting process for the blind, deaf and physically challenged, according to court documents.

 The city was also required to show that minorities have been appointed as election officials and was required to present evidence of levels of “minority participation. “

 Since 2008, an Asian-American Suhas Naddoni and a black person, Preston Banks, have been elected to the city’s governing body, Manassas Park officials outlined in court documents.