IN the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the EASTERN DISTRICT of VIRGINIA NORFOLK DIVISION Latasha Holloway, Et Al., Plaintiffs
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA NORFOLK DIVISION Latasha Holloway, et al., Plaintiffs, Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-00069 v. City of Virginia Beach, et al., Defendants . REDACTED VERSION OF PLAINTIFFS’ PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW (ECF No. 195) Case 2:18-cv-00069-RAJ-DEM Document 195 Filed 09/29/20 Page 1 of 113 PageID# 6222 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA NORFOLK DIVISION Latasha Holloway, et al., Plaintiffs, Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-0069 v. City of Virginia Beach, et al., Defendants PLAINTIFFS’ PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Case 2:18-cv-00069-RAJ-DEM Document 195 Filed 09/29/20 Page 2 of 113 PageID# 6223 TABLE OF CONTENTS Proposed Findings of Fact I. Background .............................................................................................................................. 1 A. Parties .................................................................................................................................. 1 B. Virginia Beach’s Current Electoral System ........................................................................ 3 C. For 20 Years, the City Council Has Consistently Thwarted Efforts by the Minority Community to Change the Electoral System. .............................................................................. 4 II. Demographics of Virginia Beach ............................................................................................ 6 A. Current Population Statistics in Virginia Beach .................................................................. 6 III. The Minority Community is Sufficiently Large and Geographically Compact to Constitute a Majority in a Single-Member District ........................................................................................... 10 A. Mr. Fairfax’s Data and Methods ....................................................................................... 11 B. It Is Possible to Draw Two Districts Out of Ten Total Districts Where the Minority Community Constitutes a Majority ........................................................................................... 17 C. It Is Possible to Draw One District Out of Ten Total Districts That Is Majority Minority 26 D. It Is Possible to Draw One District Out of Ten Total Districts That Is Majority Hispanic and Black ................................................................................................................................... 29 E. It Is Possible to Draw One District Out of Ten Total Districts That Is Majority Black .... 30 F. It Is Possible to Draw One District Out of Seven Total Districts That Is Majority Minority 30 G. Majority-Minority Districts with Lower Compactness Scores Than Any of the Districts in Plaintiffs’ Illustrative Plans are Routinely Upheld by Courts. .................................................. 34 IV. Elections in Virginia Beach Demonstrate Significant Levels of Racially Polarized Voting Between Voters from the Minority Community and White Voters .............................................. 34 A. Prof. Spencer is An Expert in Identifying Racially Polarized Voting ............................... 34 B. Federal and State Elections in Virginia Beach Show High Levels of Racially Polarized Voting ........................................................................................................................................ 39 C. Probative City Council Elections for Racially Polarized Voting Analysis ....................... 41 D. Qualitative Evidence Also Demonstrates the Political Cohesiveness of the Minority Community ................................................................................................................................ 45 V. Bloc Voting by the White Majority Usually Defeats the Preferred Candidate of Choice of the Minority Community ............................................................................................................... 47 A. Plaintiffs’ Illustrative Majority-Minority Districts Offer the Minority Community a Greater Opportunity to Participate in the Political Process and Elect Representatives of Their Choice ........................................................................................................................................ 48 VI. Under the Totality of the Circumstances, the Political Process is Not Equally Open to Minority Voters ............................................................................................................................. 50 ii Case 2:18-cv-00069-RAJ-DEM Document 195 Filed 09/29/20 Page 3 of 113 PageID# 6224 A. Senate Factor 1: There Is a History of Official Discrimination in the State and City that Has Affected Minority Groups’ Ability to Register, Vote, or Otherwise Participate in the Democratic Process ................................................................................................................... 51 B. Senate Factor 2: Voting in the City Council Elections Is Racially Polarized ................... 57 C. Senate Factor 3: The City Has Used Voting Practices or Procedures That Tend to Enhance the Opportunity for Discrimination Against the Minority Group, Such as Unusually Large Election Districts, Majority-Vote Requirements, and Prohibitions Against Bullet Voting 58 D. Senate Factor 4: Members of the Minority Community are Excluded from the Candidate Slating Process ........................................................................................................................... 59 E. Senate Factor 5: Minority Group Members Bear the Effects of Discrimination in Areas Such as Education, Employment, and Health, Hindering Their Ability to Participate Effectively in the Political Process ............................................................................................ 61 F. Senate Factor 6: Overt and Subtle Racial Appeals Are Used in Political Campaigns ...... 64 G. Senate Factor 7: The extent to which members of the minority group have been elected to public office in the jurisdiction. ................................................................................................. 66 H. Senate Factor 8: Elected Officials Are Failing to Respond to the Particularized Needs of the Minority Community ........................................................................................................... 68 I. Senate Factor 9: The City Council Has No Valid Justification for the Challenged Election System ....................................................................................................................................... 72 Conclusions of Law I. Jurisdiction and Venue .......................................................................................................... 73 II. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act ........................................................................................ 73 III. Standing ................................................................................................................................. 77 IV. Elections in the City of Virginia Beach ................................................................................. 77 V. Plaintiffs Have Established the Gingles Preconditions ......................................................... 77 A. Gingles I: Plaintiffs Have Demonstrated that the Minority Community is Sufficiently Large and Geographically Compact to Constitute a Majority in a Single-Member District. .... 77 B. Gingles II and III: Plaintiffs have Demonstrated that the City has Racially Polarized Voting and Minority-Preferred Candidates Usually Lose Their Elections Due to the Presence of White Bloc Voting ................................................................................................................ 80 VI. Under the Totality of the Circumstances, It is Clear that the Political Process is not Open to Members of the Minority Community .......................................................................................... 90 A. Senate Factor One: There Is a History of Official Discrimination in the State and City that Has Affected Minority Groups’ Ability To Register, Vote, or Otherwise Participate in the Democratic Process. .................................................................................................................. 91 B. Senate Factor Two: Voting in City Council Elections is Racially Polarized. ................... 94 C. Senate Factor Three: The City Has Used Voting Practices or Procedures that Tend to Enhance the Opportunity for Discrimination Against the Minority Group, Such as Unusually Large Election Districts, Majority-Vote Requirements, and Prohibitions Against Bullet Voting. ....................................................................................................................................... 95 iii Case 2:18-cv-00069-RAJ-DEM Document 195 Filed 09/29/20 Page 4 of 113 PageID# 6225 D. Senate Factor Four: Members of the Minority Community Are Excluded from the Candidate Slating Process. ........................................................................................................ 96 E. Senate Factor 5: Minority Group Members Bear the Effects of Discrimination in Areas Such as Education, Employment, and Health, Hindering Their Ability to Participate Effectively in the Political Process. ........................................................................................... 98 F. Senate Factor Six: Overt and Subtle Racial Appeals Are Used in Political