(b) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. [H.R. 7193, 89th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To protect voting rights secured by the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Voting Rights Act of 1965”. FINDINGS SEC. 2. Congress finds that despite the enactmentof the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964 large numbers of citizens of the United States are being denied the right to vote on account of race or color; that such denials are often accomplished by State and local officials through the discriminatory use of literacy tests, interpretation tests, the poll tax, and other devices; that such denials have also been effected through threats, intimidation, violence, and economic coercion; and that such serious violations of the fifteenth amendment necessitate that Congress act to enforce that constitutional guarantee. DEFINITIONS SEC. 3. For the purposes of this Act: (a) The term "election" means any general, special, or primary election held in any State or political subdivision thereof solely or partially for the purpose of electing or selecting any candidate to public office or to decide a proposition or issue of public law. (b) The term "voting district" means any county, parish, or similar political subdivision of a State, or any political subdivision of a State which is independent of the political jurisdiction of a county, parish, or similar political subdivision, or, absent any such political subdivisions, the State itself. (c) The phrase "denied the right to register or to vote" means that a person acting under color of law (1) has failed to provide an applicant with an opportunity to apply for registration to vote or to qualify to vote, (2) has found an applicant not qualified to vote, (3) has not notified an applicant of the results of his application to register wihin seven days of the date of application, or (4) has not permitted an individual to vote or have his vote counted despite the fact that he is registered or otherwise entitled to vote. (d) The term "vote" shall have the same meaning as in section 2004 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1971 (e)). (e) The term "Board" shall mean the National Voting Rights Board provided for in section 5 of this Act. (f) The term "literacy test" shall have the same meaning as in section 2004 of the Revised Statutes as amended (42 U.S.C. 1971(a) (3) (B)). (g) The phrase "possessing a sixth grade education" shall mean having completed the sixth grade of education in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. ABOLITION OF THE POLL TAX SEC. 4. No State or political subdivision thereof shall deny any person the right to register or to vote because of his failure to pay a poll tax or any other tax. NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS BOARD SEC. 5. (a) There is hereby established a National Voting Rights Board which shall consist of six members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. No more than three of the members shall be of the same political party. The President shall designate the Chairman of the Board. (b) The term of office of members of the Board shall be five years. A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the unexpired duration of the term. (c) The Chairman shall receive an annual salary of $28,500; each other member shall receive $27,000. (d) The principal office of the Board shall be in the District of Columbia, where its general sessions shall be held; but whenever the convenience of the public or of the parties may be promoted or delay or expense prevented thereby, the Board may hold special sessions in any part of the United States. (e) The Board shall appoint an executive director and such other personnel as performance of its duties requires. The Board shall appoint registrars pursuant to the provisions of this Act without regard to the civil service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, as amended. Such appointments may be terminated by the Board at any time. Registrars shall be subject to the provisions of section 9 of the Act of August 2, 1939, as amended (the Hatch Act). Registrars shall have the power to administer oaths. (f) The departments and agencies of the Federal Government are authorized to make available to the Board such additional personnel as may be required by the Board to carry out its functions under this Act. (g) The Board shall make such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out its functions. (h) The Board shall have the power to compel at any designated place the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers and documents relevant to its powers and duties through the use of the subpena. Upon refusal to obey a subpena, the Board may apply for its enforcement to the court of appeals for the circuit in which the inquiry is being held. The court shall forthwith order full compliance with the subpena and shall cite a refusal to do so as a contempt unless it determines that the issuance of the subpena is not reasonably related to the exercise of the Board's powers or duties under this Act. INITIATION OF PROCEEDING BY CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION SEC. 6. (a) Whenever the Commission on Civil Rights determines that there has been a substantial denial or abridgment of the right to vote of citizens of the United States on account of race or color in any voting district, the Commission shall notify the President of its determination, describing the circumstances in which the denial or abridgment took place. (b) If the President, upon such notification, concludes that the assignment of Federal registrars is necessary to enforce the guarantee of the fifteenth amendment, he shall instruct the Board to assign as many registrars to the voting district as are necessary to prepare and maintain lists of persons eligible to vote in any election. PRIVATE INITIATION OF PROCEEDING SEC. 7. (a) Any resident of any voting district may file a sworn complaint with the Board alleging (1) that he meets the valid qualifications to vote under State law, as limited by section 10, (2) that he has been denied the right to register or to vote within ninety days, and (3) that he believes that the denial was on account of race or color. If the Board receives twenty-five or more complaints with such allegation based upon denials of the right to register or to vote committed within a single six-month period, and if the Board determines that such complaints are meritorious, it shall order a hearing to be held in such voting district. If the hearing examiner finds that within a single six-month period twenty-five or more complainants who met the valid qualifications to vote under State law, as limited by section 10, were denied the right to register or to vote in that district, he shall find that such persons were denied the right to vote on account of race or color. For this purpose he may administer a literacy test in the same manner as registrars are authorized to do under section 9. (b) Exceptions may be filed with the Board within twenty days of the examiner's findings of facts. The decision of the Board shall be final and not reviewable in any court. (c) Upon confirmation by the Board of findings by the examiner against a voting district, the Board shall assign as many registrars to such voting district as are necessary to prepare and maintain lists of persons eligible to vote in any election. After the assignment of registrars, those persons found qualified to vote pursuant to this section shall be placed on a list of eligible voters and shall receive a certificate of eligibility pursuant to section 9(a). JUDICIAL REVIEW SEC. 8. (a) Within thirty days after publication in the Federal Register of notice of assignment of registrars for a voting district under section 6 or 7, the voting district may file an action with the Board alleging that neither the district nor any persons acting under color of law have engaged during the five years preceding the filing of the action in a pattern or practice of denials of the right to vote on account of race or color. A hearing examiner appointed by and responsible to the Board shall hear and determine the case, and an appeal to the Board from this decision may be taken within fifteen days after receipt of such decision. A petition for review of the decision of the Board may be filed in the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the voting district is located. On appeal, the findings of the Board, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. (b) No judgment in favor of any petitioner shall issue under this section for a period of five years after the entry of a final judgment of a court of the United States, whether entered prior to or after the enactment of this Act, determining that there has been a pattern or practice of the denial of the right to vote on account of race or color committed anywhere within the territory of such petitioner. (c) If the petitioner obtains a final judgment in its favor in an action authorized under this section, the registration procedure established by this Act shall, after such judgment, be inapplicable to the petitioner. (d) No action taken by the Board under this Act shall be stayed pending judicial review under this section. The action provided by this section shall be the exclusive method of judicial challenge to the assignment of registrars. REGISTRATION PROCEDURE SEC. 9. (a) Any person whom a registrar finds to have the valid qualifications for registering and voting under State law, as limited by section 10, shall promptly be placed on a list of eligible voters. The registrar shall certify and transmit two copies of such list to the offices of the appropriate election officials. Supplements to this list shall likewise be filed at the end of each month and forty-five days before an election. These lists shall be available for public inspection. After the lists have been certified there shall be issued to each person appearing thereon a certificate evidencing his eligibility to vote. Any person whose name appears on such a list shall be entitled to vote in the voting district unless and until the appropriate election officials are notified that such person has been removed from such list in accordance with subsection (b): Provided, That no person shall be entitled to vote in any election by virtue of this Act unless a list containing his name was received at the office of the appropriate election officials at least forty-five days prior to such election. (b) A registrar shall remove from an eligibility list the name of any person (1) who is successfully challenged under section 11, or (2) who the registrar determines has lost his eligibility to vote under State law, but no name shall be removed for failure to vote during any period less than three years. QUALIFICATIONS SEC. 10. (a) The Board shall provide registration forms consistent with the policies of this Act, which shall include a statement that the applicant is not otherwise registered to vote. The Board shall also instruct registrars concerning the valid qualifications for registering and voting under State law. (b) Valid qualifications for registering and voting under State law shall not include any requirement that a person as a prerequisite for voting or registration for voting (1) prove his qualifications by the voucher of registered voters or members of any other class. (2) prossess good moral character, or (3) demonstrate educational achievement or knowledge of any particular subject. (c) Valid qualifications for registering and voting under State law may include a literacy test. The Board shall provide for administration by the registrar of the literacy test employed by the State to all residents of the voting district, whether or not otherwise registered under this Act, and no person shall vote in a voting district for which a registrar has been assigned who has not satisfied the literacy test administered by the registrar. The Board shall provide for issue by the registrar of a certificate evidencing that a resident has satisfied the literacy test. Such certificate may be issued either upon proof that the resident possesses a sixth grade education or upon successful completion of the literacy test. (d) The Board shall maintain continuing surveillance of the qualifications for registering and voting in States where any voting district is located for which it has assigned a registrar. Where it determines that a particular qualification results in a denial of the right to vote on account of race or color, it shall so inform the State and instruct registrars assigned in the State that such qualification is not a valid qualification for registering and voting under State law. Such determination shall be reviewable in the court of appeals for the circuit in which the State is located. The decision of the Board, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. CHALLENGES SEC. 11. (a) Any challenge to a listing on an eligibility list must be made to the registrar who certified the list and be supported by the affidavit of at least one person having personal knowledge of the facts constituting grounds for the challenge. Challenges with which the registrar disagrees shall be heard by a hearing examiner appointed by and responsible to the Board. A challenge shall be determined within fifteen days after it has been made, and appeal to the Board from the examiner's decision must be made within fifteen days after receipt of such decision. A petition for review of the decision of the Board may be filed in the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the voting district is located within fifteen days after the decision. The decision of the Board, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. Any person listed shall be entitled to vote pending final determination by the Board and the court. TERMINATION SEC. 12. (a) The Board, in consultation with the Civil Rights Commission and the Attorney General, shall conduct a continuing study of conditions in voting districts for which registrars have been assigned with a view toward determining when State and local officials may be expected to administer the laws consistently with the guarantee of the fifteenth amendment. When the Board determines that such a condition exists, it shall instruct registrars in such voting districts to examine and list only applicants who make a sworn allegation that within thirty days preceding their application they have been denied the right to register or to vote. The Board may remove this requirement if it finds that the laws are not being administered in accordance with this Act. (b) Within six months after the first general election following action taken pursuant to subsection (a), the Board shall, if it finds that it is reasonable to believe that registration and voting in the voting district will be conducted by the State and local officials consistent with the guarantee of the fifteenth amendment, certify that finding to the President who may, if he concurs, order the assignment of registrars for that district terminated. DENIAL OF RIGHT TO VOTE SEC. 13. No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall fail or refuse to permit a person whose name appears on a list transmitted in accordance with section 9(a), or who is otherwise registered to vote in a voting district for which a registrar has been assigned, to vote, or fail or refuse to count such person's vote, or intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten or coerce any person for voting or attempting to vote in any voting district for which a registrar has been assigned. OBSERVERS SEC. 14. The Board is authorized to send observers to any election held in any voting district for which a registrar has been assigned. Such observers shall have power to observe all aspects of the vote in all elections conducted by State and local officials within the voting district, including the casting and counting of ballots. Observers shall report to the Board any denial or abridgment of the right to vote. INTIMIDATION VOTERS SEC. 15. (a) Whenever the Board, in consultation with the Civil Rights Commission and the Attorney General, determines that there is a substantial risk that an election consistent with the guarantee of the fifteenth amendment cannot be held in a voting district for which a registrar has been assigned because of threats, intimidation, or coercion of persons seeking to register or vote, the Board shall certify this finding to the President, who, if he concurs, may instruct the Board to assign election supervisors to the voting district. (b) It shall be the duty of the election supervisors to conduct such elections as are held in the voting district to which they are assigned. These elections shall be conducted according to procedures which conform as closely as practicable with those of the State in which the voting district is located. (c) When the Board finds that State and local officials may be expected to conduct elections consistent with the guarantee of the fifteenth amendment in a voting district to which election supervisors have been assigned, it shall certify that finding to the President who may, if he concurs, order the assignment of supervisors to that district terminated. IMPROPER ELECTIONS SEC. 16. (a) The Board is authorized to apply for an order enjoining certification of the results of any election which has taken place in any voting district for which a registrar has been assigned. Such application shall be made to the district court for the judicial district in which the voting district is located. Upon such application, the court shall issue such an order. If after notice to the voting district and a hearing the court determines that any persons registered to vote under this Act have not been permitted to vote or to have their votes counted, it shall where practicable provide for the casting or counting of their ballots and require the inclusion of their votes in the total vote before certification of the results. Where prior to application the results have been certified, it shall provide in addition for revision of the certification. If it is not practicable to determine how many persons have been denied the right to vote, or if it is not practicable to cast and count the ballots of those denied the right to vote, the court shall declare the election void. If after notice to the voting district and a hearing the court determines that the State in which the voting district is located has a literacy test and that persons have been permitted to vote without presenting a certificate issued by the registrar under subsection 10 (c), unless the number of persons so voting is too few to affect the outcome of the election, the court shall declare the election void. No person shall be deemed to be elected and no proposition or issue determined by virtue of any election, certification of which is enjoined hereunder or which has been declared void. (b) A court may invoke the power to enjoin certification and void an election under subsection (a) if it determines that persons registered to vote under State law have not been permitted to vote or to have their votes counted on account of race or color by a person acting under color of law. (c) The President may act under section 15 to provide for the conduct by election supervisors of any new election held in place of one declared void under this section. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS SEC. 17. (a) Whoever shall deprive or attempt to deprive any person of any right or intefere with any right secured by section 13, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (b) Whoever, within a year following an election in a voting district for which a registrar has been assigned (1) destroys, defaces, mutilates, or otherwise alters the marking of a paper ballot cast in such election or (2) alters any record of voting in such election made by a voting machine or otherwise, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (c) Whoever conspires to violate the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (d) Whenever any person has engaged or there are reasonable grounds to believe that any person is about to engage in any act or practice prohibited by section 13, or subsection (b) of this section, the Attorney General may institute for the United States, or in the name of the United States, an action for preventive relief, including an application for a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order, or other order, and including an order directed to the State and State or local election officials to require them to honor listings under this Act. (e) Whoever makes a challenge under section 11 knowing such challenge to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent, shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. |