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The Kinston Ruling: Black Preferred Candidates And The Meaning Of The 15th Amendment, Brandon F. Douglass

Brandon F Douglass

Since the 1960s, section five of the Voting Rights Act requires covered jurisdictions to seek preclearance before making certain changes to their political structure. Recently, the United States Department of Justice ruled that Kinston, North Carolina’s attempt at removing partisan labels from its ballots for municipal posts violated section five of the Voting Rights Act, based on the premise that absent a partisan cue, Kinston’s African-American voters will not be able to elect their candidate of choice. This paper presents a summary of the preclearance process and an analysis of the Department’s ruling regarding Kinston’s attempt at removing the partisan …