Opinion ID: 76927
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Voting Rights Act Claim

Text: 43 The plaintiffs also argue that Florida's felon disenfranchisement law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. As a threshold matter, this claim raises an important question of statutory interpretation, namely, whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act applies to Florida's felon disenfranchisement provision. The Circuits are split on this issue. Compare Muntaqim v. Coombe, 366 F.3d 102, 124 (2d Cir.2004) (holding that Section 2 did not reach New York's felon disenfranchisement statute), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 480, 160 L.Ed.2d 356 (2004), and reh'g en banc granted, 396 F.3d 95 (2004) with Farrakhan v. Washington, 338 F.3d 1009, 1014-15 (9th Cir.2003) (holding that Section 2 applied to Washington's felon disenfranchisement law), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 477, 160 L.Ed.2d 365 (2004); Wesley v. Collins, 791 F.2d 1255, 1259-61 (6th Cir.1986) (assuming that Section 2 of the VRA applies to felon disenfranchisement laws but holding that there was no violation); see also Farrakhan v. Washington, 359 F.3d 1116 (9th Cir.2004) (Kozinski, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc) (arguing that Section 2 of the VRA does not apply to felon disenfranchisement laws). 1. The Scope of the Voting Rights Act 44 Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act pursuant to its enforcement powers under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments for the remedial purpose of eliminating racially discriminatory voting practices. South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301, 308, 86 S.Ct. 803, 15 L.Ed.2d 769 (1966); United States v. Marengo County Commission, 731 F.2d 1546, 1555 (11th Cir.1984). Recognizing the subtle ways that states often denied racial minorities the right to vote, in 1982, Congress amended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act so that a plaintiff could establish a violation without proving discriminatory intent. 25 See Chisom v. Roemer, 501 U.S. 380, 383-84, 111 S.Ct. 2354, 115 L.Ed.2d 348 (1991). Thus, it is well-settled that a plaintiff can challenge voting qualifications under a results test. 26 Id. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. § 1973, as amended, provides in relevant part 27 : 45 (a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color ... 46 (b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is established if, based on the totality of the circumstances, it is shown that ... members [of protected racial minorities] have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. 47 42 U.S.C. § 1973. Despite its broad language, Section 2 does not prohibit all voting restrictions that may have a racially disproportionate effect. See Chisom, 501 U.S. at 383, 111 S.Ct. 2354 (Congress amended § 2 of the Voting Rights Act to make clear that certain practices and procedures that result in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote are forbidden even though the absence of proof of discriminatory intent protects them from constitutional challenge.) (emphasis added); Muntaqim, 366 F.3d at 116. Felon disenfranchisement laws are unlike other voting qualifications. These laws are deeply rooted in this Nation's history 28 and are a punitive device stemming from criminal law. See Richardson, 418 U.S. at 48-52, 94 S.Ct. 2655. Today, all states except two have some form of criminal disenfranchisement provision. 48 Most important, Florida's discretion to deny the vote to convicted felons is fixed by the text of § 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states: 49 [W]hen the right to vote ... is denied to any of the male inhabitants ... or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 50 U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2 (emphasis added). 29 As the Court explained in Richardson,  the exclusion of felons from the vote has an affirmative sanction in section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, a sanction which was not present in the case of the other restrictions on the franchise which were invalidated [in other cases]. 418 U.S. at 54, 94 S.Ct. 2655. Thus, interpreting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to deny Florida the discretion to disenfranchise felons raises serious constitutional problems because such an interpretation allows a congressional statute to override the text of the Constitution. 51 It is a long-standing rule of statutory interpretation that federal courts should not construe a statute to create a constitutional question unless there is a clear statement from Congress endorsing this understanding. 30 As the Supreme Court stated in DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Trades Council: 52 [W]here an otherwise acceptable construction of a statute would raise serious constitutional problems, the Court will construe the statute to avoid such problems unless such construction is plainly contrary to the intent of Congress. This cardinal principle has its roots in Chief Justice Marshall's opinion for the Court in Murray v. The Charming Betsy, 6 U.S. (2 Cranch) 64, 118, 2 L.Ed. 208 (1804), and has for so long been applied by this Court that it is beyond debate ... This approach not only reflects the prudential concern that constitutional issues not be needlessly confronted, but also recognizes that Congress, like this Court, is bound by and swears an oath to uphold the Constitution. The courts will therefore not lightly assume that Congress intended to infringe constitutionally protected liberties or usurp power constitutionally forbidden it. 53 485 U.S. 568, 575, 108 S.Ct. 1392, 99 L.Ed.2d 645 (1988). Thus, when we analyze the scope of the Voting Rights Act, we should first address whether one interpretation presents grave constitutional questions whereas another interpretation would not, and then examine whether the latter interpretation is clearly contrary to Congressional intent. Id. Here, the plaintiffs' interpretation creates a serious constitutional question by interpreting the Voting Rights Act to conflict with the text of the Fourteenth Amendment. 31 The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution grant Congress the power to enforce those amendments' substantive provisions by appropriate legislation. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 5; XV, § 2. Congress may enforce the substantive provisions of these Amendments by regulating conduct that does not directly violate those Amendments. See South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301, 86 S.Ct. 803, 15 L.Ed.2d 769 (1966). As the Court has explained, Congress may enact so-called prophylactic legislation that proscribes facially constitutional conduct, in order to prevent and deter unconstitutional conduct. Nevada Dep't of Human Resources v. Hibbs, 538 U.S. 721, 727-28, 123 S.Ct. 1972, 155 L.Ed.2d 953 (2003). 54 Nonetheless, Congress's power in this regard is not absolute. To be a valid exercise of Congress's enforcement power, there must be a congruence and proportionality between the injury to be prevented or remedied and the means adopted to that end. City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 520, 117 S.Ct. 2157, 138 L.Ed.2d 624 (1997). Congress undoubtedly has the constitutional authority to prohibit many measures that are not explicitly prohibited by the Fourteenth Amendment, but this enforcement power arguably does not extend to prohibiting constitutionally protected practices. This is not to say that a state's felon disenfranchisement provision can never be challenged. As the Court's decision in Hunter made clear, states cannot use disenfranchisement provisions to discriminate intentionally on the basis of race. 471 U.S. at 233, 105 S.Ct. 1916. Thus, the plaintiffs have a remedy if the state's provision violates the Equal Protection Clause. Id. It is a different matter, however, when a federal statute is read to limit a state's delegated power. 55 Moreover, as the Second Circuit detailed in Muntaqim, there are additional reasons why the plaintiffs' interpretation of the Voting Rights Act calls into question Congress's enforcement power. 366 F.3d at 118-26. For Congress to enact proper enforcement legislation, there must be a record of constitutional violations. 32 See Board of Trustees of University of Alabama v. Garrett, 531 U.S. 356, 368, 121 S.Ct. 955, 148 L.Ed.2d 866 (2001); Kimel v. Florida Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 89, 120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522 (2000). In Oregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112, 118, 91 S.Ct. 260, 27 L.Ed.2d 272 (1970), superseded by U.S. Const. amend. XXVI, the Court reviewed the 1970 amendments to the Voting Rights Act, which imposed a temporary ban on literacy tests and lowered from 21 to 18 the minimum voting age. There, the Court affirmed the literacy test ban but held that Congress exceeded its authority in lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 in state elections. The Court concluded that Congress had before it a long history of discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race but Congress made no legislative findings that the 21 year old requirement was used by the States to disenfranchise voters on account of race. Mitchell, 400 U.S. at 130, 132, 91 S.Ct. 260. 56 As was the case in Mitchell, when Congress enacted the VRA and its subsequent amendments, there was a complete absence of congressional findings that felon disenfranchisement laws were used to discriminate against minority voters. 33 Without a record of constitutional violations, applying Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to Florida's felon disenfranchisement law would force us to address whether Congress exceeded its enforcement powers under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. 34 57 For these reasons, we believe that the plaintiffs' interpretation of the VRA raises grave constitutional concerns. 35 For the plaintiffs' interpretation to be correct, we must look for a clear statement from Congress that it intended such a constitutionally-questionable result. DeBartolo, 485 U.S. at 575, 108 S.Ct. 1392. Instead of a clear statement from Congress indicating that the plaintiffs' interpretation is correct, the legislative history indicates just the opposite — that Congress never intended the Voting Rights Act to reach felon disenfranchisement provisions. 36 2. Congressional Statements in 1965 58 Congress first passed the Act in 1965 to prevent states from discriminating against minorities in voting. The act was intended to reach voting tests and other practices, such as districts designed by states to minimize minority voting. See Burton v. City of Belle Glade, 178 F.3d 1175, 1196 (11th Cir.1999). The Senate and House reports strongly suggest, however, that Congress did not intend Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to cover felon disenfranchisement provisions. 37 These reports indicate that tests for literacy or good moral character should be scrutinized, but felon disenfranchisement provisions should not. S. Rep. 89-162, 1965 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2508, 2562. The only place where legislators addressed felon disenfranchisement was with regard to Section 4 of the VRA, where the Senate Report reflects that legislators intended to exempt the voting restrictions on felons from the statute's coverage, stating: 59 The third type of test or device covered is any requirement of good moral character. This definition would not result in the proscription of the frequent requirement of States and political subdivisions that an applicant for voting or registration for voting be free of conviction of a felony or mental disability. 60 Id. Likewise, the House Report also states that the Voting Rights Act was not designed to reach felon disenfranchisement provisions: 61 This subsection does not proscribe a requirement of a State or any political subdivision of a State that an applicant for voting or registration for voting be free of conviction of a felony or mental disability. 62 H.R.Rep. No. 89-439, 1965 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2437, 2457. These reports indicate that neither house of Congress intended to include felon disenfranchisement within the statute's scope. These are the only references to felon disenfranchisement made in reports to the 1965 act. 63 Furthermore, this court's predecessor decided that the 1965 Act did not cover a state's decision to exclude felons from voting. In United States v. Ward, the former Fifth Circuit held that the Voting Rights Act prohibited Louisiana from imposing any literacy test or other qualification on voter registration, but found that the act did not extend to felon disenfranchisement rules. 352 F.2d 329, 332 (5th Cir.1965). 38 There, the court issued an order enjoining the state from applying the voting tests, but explicitly exempted felony convictions from the order. The court ordered that the state cease 64 ... requiring any applicant for voter registration in Madison Parish, as a precondition to such registration, to take or pass any test of literacy, knowledge, or understanding or to comply with any other test or device as defined in Section 4(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Public Law 89-110, 79 Stat. 438-439, i.e., any requirement (including the good character requirement specified in Article VIII, Section 1(c) of the Louisiana Constitution and Title 18, Section 32, of the Louisiana Code, except to the extent that these provisions permit disqualification for conviction of a felony). 65 Id. at 332 (emphasis added). 3. Congressional Statements in 1982 66 Congress most recently amended the Voting Rights Act in 1982 in response to the Supreme Court's decision in City of Mobile v. Bolden, 446 U.S. 55, 100 S.Ct. 1490, 446 U.S. 55 (1980), in an attempt to clarify the standard for finding Section 2 violations. In revising the statute, Congress intended to depart from the intent-based standard of the Supreme Court's Equal Protection jurisprudence and establish an effects-based standard. S. Rep. 97-417, 15-17, 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. 177, 192-94 (1982). After the 1982 amendment, a state practice could survive Equal Protection Clause scrutiny but fail Section 2 Voting Rights Act scrutiny. 67 Neither the plain text nor the legislative history of the 1982 amendment declares Congress's intent to extend the Voting Rights Act to felon disenfranchisement provisions. The Senate Report, which details many discriminatory techniques used by certain jurisdictions, made no mention of felon disenfranchisement provisions. 39 Although it is conceivable that certain legislators may have wanted the Voting Rights Act to encompass felon disenfranchisement provisions, we should not assume that Congress intended to produce a statute contrary to the plain text of the Fourteenth Amendment without a clear statement. As the Second Circuit noted in Muntaqim, considering the prevalence of felon disenfranchisement [provisions] in every region of the country since the Founding, it seems unfathomable that Congress would silently amend the Voting Rights Act in a way that would affect them. 366 F.3d at 123-24. There is simply no discussion of felon disenfranchisement in the legislative history surrounding the 1982 amendments. 68 Thus, we believe that applying Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to felon disenfranchisement provisions raises grave constitutional concerns. 40 Chiefly, the plaintiffs' interpretation calls for a reading of the statute which would prohibit a practice that the Fourteenth Amendment permits Florida to maintain. As a matter of statutory construction, we should avoid such an interpretation. The case for rejecting the plaintiffs' reading of the statute is particularly strong here, where Congress has expressed its intent to exclude felon disenfranchisement provisions from Voting Rights Act scrutiny. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants on the Voting Rights Act claim.