Holder v. Hall, 512 U.S. 874, 75 (1994)

Page:   Index   Previous  68  69  70  71  72  73  74  75  76  77  78  79  80  81  82  Next

948

HOLDER v. HALL

Blackmun, J., dissenting

practice, or procedure" with respect to voting. In City of Rome, 446 U. S., at 161, it noted that it "is not disputed" that an expansion in the size of a board of education was "within the purview of the Act" and subject to preclearance under §5. In City of Lockhart v. United States, 460 U. S. 125, 131 (1983), it stated that a change from a three-member commission to a five-member commission was subject to § 5 preclearance. And, most recently, it said that the term "standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting" included a change in the size of a governing authority or an increase or decrease in the number of elected offices. Presley v. Etowah County Comm'n, 502 U. S. 491, 500 (1992).

This conclusion flowed naturally from the holding in Bunton v. Patterson, 393 U. S. 544 (1969), that a change from an elected to an appointed office was a "standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting." In Bunton, the Court reasoned that the power of a citizen's vote is affected by the change because the citizen has been "prohibited from electing an officer formerly subject to the approval of the voters." Id., at 570. The reverse is also true: A change from an appointed to an elected office affects a citizen's voting power by increasing the number of officials for whom he may vote. See McCain v. Lybrand, 465 U. S. 236 (1984). And, as the Court recognized in Presley, a change in the size of a governing authority is a "standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting" because the change "increase[s] or diminish[es] the number of officials for whom the electorate may vote," 502 U. S., at 503; this change bears "on the substance of voting power" and has "a direct relation to voting and the election process." Ibid.

To date, our precedent has dealt with § 5 challenges to a change in the size of a governing authority, rather than § 2 challenges to the existing size of a governing body. I agree with Justice O'Connor, ante, at 886-887, that, as a textual matter, "standard, practice, or procedure" under § 2 is at

Page:   Index   Previous  68  69  70  71  72  73  74  75  76  77  78  79  80  81  82  Next

Last modified: October 4, 2007