28 CFR 51.57 – Relevant factors
Among the factors the Attorney General will consider in making determinations with respect to the submitted changes affecting voting are the following:
Terms Used In 28 CFR 51.57
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
(a) The extent to which a reasonable and legitimate justification for the change exists;
(b) The extent to which the jurisdiction followed objective guidelines and fair and conventional procedures in adopting the change;
(c) The extent to which the jurisdiction afforded members of racial and language minority groups an opportunity to participate in the decision to make the change;
(d) The extent to which the jurisdiction took the concerns of members of racial and language minority groups into account in making the change; and
(e) The factors set forth in Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252 (1977):
(1) Whether the impact of the official action bears more heavily on one race than another;
(2) The historical background of the decision;
(3) The specific sequence of events leading up to the decision;
(4) Whether there are departures from the normal procedural sequence;
(5) Whether there are substantive departures from the normal factors considered; and
(6) The legislative or administrative history, including contemporaneous statements made by the decision makers.