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CROCKETT COUNTY, TENNESSEE TO CHANGE ITS METHOD OF ELECTION

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Crockett County, Tennessee will change the way it elects its board of commissioners under an agreement with the Justice Department that resolves claims the current election system does not provide an equal opportunity for black citizens to participate in the electoral process.

The agreement was filed today in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., together with a complaint alleging that Crockett County's districting plan for electing members to the 24-member board of commissioners violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it dilutes the voting strength of black voters.

The agreement calls for Crockett County Board of Commissioners to develop a new districting plan that, for the first time, will require at least one of county's 12 voting districts to be comprised of a majority of African-American citizens. The new districting plan is scheduled to be drawn and implemented in time for the August 2002 Board of Commissioner elections.

"We are very pleased to achieve a settlement that will ensure that all voters in Crockett County will be able to fully participate in the democratic process," said William R. Yeomans, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Crockett County, in western Tennessee, has an African-American population of 14.4%. A federal investigation showed that, ith the exception of one black candidate elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1982, no African-American candidate has ever been elected to any county office in Crockett County, although many African-American candidates have run for county-wide office.

This investigation also showed that African-American voters in Crockett County are politically cohesive, and that racially polarized voting patterns often prevail in elections in the county. In contests for county offices, white voters usually vote sufficiently as a bloc to defeat the black voters' candidate of choice. The investigation also showed that African Americans in Crockett County suffered from a history of official discrimination in voting and other areas, such as education, employment, and housing, as reflected by a depressed socioeconomic status relative to white Crockett County residents.

The agreement filed today is subject to the approval of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

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