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GLOSSARY
Reaffirmation or Requiem for the Voting Rights Act?
Copyright 1996, The American Civil Liberties Union
At-large Election -- All voters in a political jurisdiction may vote for candidates for all offices.
Cumulative Voting -- Each voter may vote as many times as there are seats to be filled, and the
voter may either give all of his/her votes to one candidate, or distribute them among several
candidates.
Limited Voting -- Each voter has fewer votes than the number of seats to be filled.
Predominantly Minority District -- Technically called a majority/minority district. An election
district in which a majority of the persons included within the district belong to a particular racial
or other minority group.
Preclearance -- A determination by the Attorney General of the United States, or by the Federal
District Court in the District of Columbia, that a jurisdiction's proposed voting changes will be
non-discriminatory. Jurisdictions covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act are required to
preclear planned changes in their voting procedures -- that is, demonstrate, prior to
implementation, that the changes do not have the purpose or the effect of discriminating against
protected racial or language minorities.
Single Member District Voting -- When a political jurisdiction has been divided into several
election districts, voters in each of the created districts may elect a single candidate to represent
them.
Vote Dilution -- The minimizing or cancelling out of the voting strength of racial and other
minorities. Vote dilution may result from the use of at-large elections, districting plans and/or
other electoral structures -- such as majority vote requirements, numbered post provisions or
staggered terms.
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