N.C. attorney general files brief in voting rights lawsuit

GARY D. ROBERTSON

RALEIGH

Attorney General Roy Cooper made a very public intervention Wednesday into a closely watched U.S. Supreme Court case, telling a sympathetic crowd of civil rights and social justice advocates that he filed a brief in a voting rights lawsuit.

Cooper, who is weighing a U.S. Senate bid in 2010, attended a rally at the Legislative Building to announce his office had asked the justices to preserve a section of the landmark 1965 law that requires the federal government to sign off on state election changes.

A local Texas government is challenging that provision, but Cooper said having a federal court or the U.S. Justice Department agree ensures elections are free from racial injustice. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 29.

"This is important to make sure that we make the electoral process fair," Cooper said in an interview. "We've entered into the lawsuit because it's a matter of critical importance."

Cooper stood on the stage in the building auditorium as Christopher Browning, his solicitor general, presented the brief to the Rev. William Barber, state chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. More than 200 other advocates who came to Raleigh to lobby the General Assembly on several issues applauded.

The case involves Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires 40 counties in North Carolina and all or portions of 15 other states with a history of racial discrimination to get federal approval before any election law changes can take effect.

Attorneys general in five of those states — New York, California, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana — also joined in Cooper's friend-of-the-court brief.

The state or local government must show that the changes aren't designed to discriminate against minority voters and won't put them in a worse position than under the prior law.

The provision is being challenged by a municipal utility district in Texas established in the 1980s. Officials there argue they've never had racial problems in elections and shouldn't be held to that portion of the Voting Rights Act.

Cooper and his attorneys wrote that so-called "preclearance" submissions can be completed in a short period of time and don't impose undue costs, and decisions from the Justice Department come within 60 days.

"The preclearance process encourages covered jurisdictions to consider the views of minority voters earlier in the process of making an election law," Cooper's office wrote in urging the court to preserve the requirement. "This involvement has minimized racial friction in those communities."

Making a personal appearance for a public announcement on a legal filing is unusual for Cooper, who was elected to a third four-year term in November. He's considered a potential Democratic challenger to GOP U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, who is up for re-election next year.

Cooper said his attendance has nothing to do with his future political plans and it wasn't time to discuss whether he would seek another job.

"This involves my work for attorney general in North Carolina," Cooper said.

Barber said Cooper's appearance shows that North Carolina is serious about preserving the improvements in racial equality over the past half-century, many of which were paid for in the deaths of protesters and civil rights pioneers.

"This document (shows) that 45 years later, we will not let the blood and tears of our people go in vain," Barber told the crowd. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Cooper's attorneys, who represented the state in another case involving the Voting Rights Act.

The majority narrowly rejected Cooper's arguments that the law should be expanded to provide legal protections to legislative districts even when black residents comprise less than half the voting-age population. The NAACP filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Cooper's viewpoint.