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county commissioner elections. In response, the Board passed a resolution changing the method of election and increasing the size of the Board. See Exhibit 1 (1989 Lee County Resolution Altering Structure of the Board). Specifically, the Board increased the size of the board to 7 Commissioners, and changed the method of election from completely at-large to a hybrid system of 4 single-member districts and 3 at-large positions. Within this Resolution, the Board also explicitly acknowledged that it "desir[ed] to increase the opportunity for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice to the Board."See Exhibit 1. Since then, District 1 has remained the only minority opportunity district and has consistently enabled Black voters to elect their candidate of choice. Lee County was covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act while this provision was enforced, and we are certain the proposed changes in Plan F would not survive preclearance by the Department of Justice were Section 5 in place.Without the protections of Section 5 of the VRA,the Board must be even more vigilant to protect Black voters in Lee County. Furthermore, efforts to undermine or eliminate the voting strength of voters of color will surely be used as evidence in support of the restoration of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Plan F Undermines the Minority Vote Without Justification As currently comprised, District 1 is the only majority-minority district on the Board. However, Plan F significantly decreases the Black population in District 1 (-2.2%), while significantly increasing the white population (+3.8%). Additionally, Plan F decreases the LatinX population by 2.1%.In District 1,the total minority population has decreased by 3.8%,and that is a significant decrease in voting power, especially when district races for the Board have been decided by 30 votes in the past.2 We also note that these numbers do not reflect the decrease in the statistical Black voting-age population in District 1, which may be more problematic than the actual loss in the total Black population. The majority of the Black population in Lee County is comprised in District 1 (which covers most of the city of Sanford), which is currently represented by Robert T. Reives, the only Black Commissioner on the Board.3 The existence of District 1 has allowed Black voters to elect their desired candidate of choice, but Plan F seeks to dilute the power of Black voters, and as a consequence,the magnitude of their voices in the affairs of the Board and Lee County.To mitigate the effect of redistricting on Black voters in Lee County, the Board must ensure that Black voters in Lee County can continue to elect their candidates of choice.The VRA cannot be an afterthought in redrawing districts, it should be a priority, especially given the fraught racial history of Lee County that led it to come under VRA preclearance. Compliance with Section 2 of the VRA is not optional, it is mandatory, and in order to comply, the Board must be cognizant of how its districting decisions affect Black voters and whether they are able to elect their candidate of choice to the Board. Although counties are not 2 2018 Election Results for the Lee County,North Carolina Board of Elections(11/6/2018),available at https://er.ncsbe.Qov/?election dt=11/06/2018&county id=53&office=LOC&contest=0. 3 Lee County,North Carolina Commissioner Roster,https://leecountvnc.gov/commissioners/commissionerroster (last visited October 17,2021). 6110 ,, I W 0 2 `` • / 0