13.

Voting Section—Termination of Coverage and Bailout— Preclearance (Section 5), Federal Examiners and Observers, Minority Language Requirements

The application of the preclearance (Section 5), federal examiner (Section 6), and federal observer (Section 8) provisions and the minority language requirements of Section 4(f)(4) expire on June 29, 2007. Covered jurisdictions can bail out prior to that time by obtaining the kind of declaratory judgment that is described in Section 4(a) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973(a). The statute is quite specific in describing the facts which must be proven to obtain the declaratory judgment. Bail-out actions must be brought in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and a three-judge court is required. Individual political subdivisions (in most instances these are counties) in states subject to statewide coverage are eligible to bring bail-out actions. The minority language requirements of Section 203 expire on August 6, 2007. Covered jurisdictions can bail out prior to that time by obtaining the declaratory judgment described in Section 203(d) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-1a(d); the statute is quite specific in describing the facts which must be proven to obtain the declaratory judgment. Bail-out actions may be brought in the district court for the district in which the jurisdiction is located. A three-judge court is not authorized. [updated February 1998] [cited in USAM 8-2.270]