Full opinion text
ORDER JOHN H. MOORE, II, District Judge. I.Procedural background This cause is before the Court on the post-trial briefs submitted by the parties. The individual Plaintiffs in this action are certain black residents and registered voters of Duval County, Florida. Plaintiff D.W. Perkins Bar Association is an unincorporated association of black attorneys in Duval County, Florida; most of these attorneys are residents of and registered voters in Duval County and the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Defendants are the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Director of the Florida Division of Elections, all sued in their official capacities only. Plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief against the method of at-large cir-cuitwide and countywide voting for judges of the Fourth Judicial Circuit and the Du-val County Court. Plaintiffs allege that the current at-large system of election unlawfully dilutes the voting strength of black citizens and denies them an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice, in violation of section two of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973. Plaintiffs also allege that the maintenance of the at-large election system violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Based on the entire record, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law. II. Overview of Legal Standards Section 2(a) of the Voting Rights Act prohibits states and their political subdivisions from imposing any voting qualifications or prerequisites to voting, or any standards, practices, or procedures which result in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote of any citizen on account of race or color. Section 2(b) provides that: a violation of subsection (a) is established if, based on the totality of the circumstances, it is shown that the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not equally open to participation by members of a class of citizens protected by subsection (a) in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. The extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the State or political subdivision is one circumstance which may be considered: Provided, That nothing in this section establishes a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population. 42 U.S.C. § 1973. The United States Supreme Court had occasion to interpret section two in Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986). The Gingles Court set forth the following factors, taken from the Senate Report accompanying the 1982 amendment to the Act, which are to be considered in evaluating a section two claim: 1. The extent of any history of official discrimination in the state or political subdivision that touched the right of the members of the minority group to register, to vote, or otherwise to participate in the democratic process; 2. The extent to which voting in the elections of the state or political subdivision is racially polarized; 3. The extent to which the state or political subdivision has used unusually large election districts, majority vote requirements, anti-single shot provisions, or other voting practices or procedures that may enhance the opportunity for discrimination against the minority group; 4. If there is a candidate slating process, whether the members of a minority group have been denied access to that process; 5. The extent to which members of the minority group in the state or political subdivision bear the effects of discrimination in such areas as education, employment and health, which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process; 6. Whether political campaigns have been characterized by overt or subtle racial appeals; 7. The extent to which members of the minority group have been elected to public office in the jurisdiction; 8. Whether there is a significant lack of responsiveness on the part of elected officials to the particularized needs of the members of the minority group; 9. Whether the policy underlying the state or political subdivision’s use of such voting qualification, prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice or procedure is tenuous. Id. 478 U.S. at 36-37, 44-45, 106 S.Ct. at 2759-60, 2763 (quoting S.Rep. No. 97-417, 97th Cong.2d Sess. 28-29 (1982), reprinted in 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. 177, 206-07) (hereinafter “S.Rep.”). According to the Gingles Court, the most important factors to be considered are racial bloc voting and minority electoral success. Id. 478 U.S. at 48 n. 15, 106 S.Ct. at 2765 n. 15. This list of factors is not exhaustive; other relevant factors may also be considered. Id. 478 U.S. at 45, 106 S.Ct. at 2763. According to the Senate Report, “there is no requirement that any particular number of factors be proved, or that a majority of them point one way or another.” S.Rep. at 29, 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. at p. 207. These factors should be considered under a “functional” view of the political process, with a “searching practical evaluation of the past and present reality.” Gingles, 478 U.S. at 45, 106 S.Ct. at 2764. The Gingles Court identified three circumstances which must be present to make out a claim of vote dilution. Id. 478 U.S. at 48, 106 S.Ct. at 2765. First, the minority group must demonstrate that it is sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district. Id. 478 U.S. at 50, 106 S.Ct. at 2766. Second, the minority group must show that it is politically cohesive. Id. 478 U.S. at 51, 106 S.Ct. at 2766. Finally, the minority group must demonstrate that the white majority votes sufficiently as a block to enable it usually to defeat the minority’s preferred candidate, in the absence of special circumstances such as incumbency and lack of opposition. Id. 478 U.S. at 51, 106 S.Ct. at 2766-67. The Court stressed that these three factors are “necessary preconditions” to a successful claim of vote dilution by an at-large scheme. Id. 478 U.S. at 50, 106 S.Ct. at 2766. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has been unable to agree on the precise meaning of Gingles. In Solomon v. Liberty County, 899 F.2d 1012 (11th Cir.1990), a case which presented an opportunity to interpret the proper scope of Gingles, the Eleventh Circuit split evenly in an en banc decision. Judge Kravitch, writing for five judges, wrote that a plaintiff can prove vote dilution simply by showing the ability to elect a black candidate from a single member district and racial bloc voting that operates usually to defeat the black candidate in an at-large system. See Solomon, 899 F.2d at 1017. Judge Kravitch only considered the remaining factors set forth in the Senate Report and cited and relied upon by the Gingles Court to the extent that those factors shed light on the threshold factors. See id. at 1019; but cf. Gingles, 478 U.S. at 80, 106 S.Ct. at 2781 (approving the district court’s discussion of the “totality of the circumstances,” including Senate Report factors such as past discrimination in voting, and campaign appeals to racial prejudice). Judge Tjoflat, writing for five judges, interpreted Gingles to require the following. First, if a plaintiff cannot prove the existence of a large and compact minority group, and racial bloc voting that usually works to defeat the minority group’s preferred candidate, then the plaintiff cannot make out a claim of section two vote dilution. See Solomon, 899 F.2d at 1035. Second, if the plaintiff does prove the above factors, defendant may rebut the plaintiff’s case by offering proof of other objective factors that, under the totality of the circumstances, indicate that the voting community is not driven by racial bias. Id. The ultimate issue to be decided is “ ‘whether the political processes were equally open’ ” under the totality of the circumstances. Id. at 1036 (quoting S.Rep. at 35, 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. at p. 213). Recently, the Supreme Court held that section two applies to the election of trial judges. See Houston Lawyers’ Assoc. v. Attorney General, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2376, 115 L.Ed.2d 379 (1991). The Court further held that a state’s interest in maintaining the link between a trial judge’s jurisdiction and the area of residency of his or her, voters is a legitimate factor to be considered by courts in determining whether a section two violation has occurred under' the totality of the circumstances. See id. 111 S.Ct. at 2381; see also S.Rep. at 28-29 (stating that the tenuousness of the state policy behind the electoral system under challenge is a factor to be considered under the totality of the circumstances). The Supreme Court had no occasion in Houston Lawyers or its companion case, Chisom v. Roemer, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2354, 115 L.Ed.2d 348 (1991), to explain or refine the standard that should be applied in section two litigation. See Chisom, 111 S.Ct. at 2368. However, the Supreme Court’s recognition of a state’s interest as a legitimate factor to be considered reaffirms the notion that a vote dilution claim ultimately must be evaluated under the totality of the circumstances. III. Findings of Fact Background The Fourth Judicial Circuit is located in northeast Florida and consists of Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties. The circuit covers approximately 2,017 square miles, while Duval County covers approximately 776 square miles. According to the 1990 census, the total population of the Fourth Judicial Circuit is 822,898, and the black population is 173,937, approximately 21% of the total. In Duval County, the total population is 672,971, and the black population is 163,902, approximately 24.4% of the total. The Fourth Judicial Circuit has twenty-eight circuit judges. The Duval County Court has twelve judges. Circuit judges serve six-year terms, and county judges serve four-year terms. Appointees to midterm vacancies to circuit and county judge-ships initially serve a shorter term which varies depending upon the date of the appointment and the next general election. The circuit and county courts are trial courts, with the circuit courts having general jurisdiction of civil and criminal cases and the county court having limited jurisdiction. Each circuit judge has jurisdiction or authority within the entire circuit. Similarly, each judge of the Duval County Court has jurisdiction or authority within the entire county. The next regularly scheduled elections for circuit judges in the Fourth Circuit and county judges in Duval County are in September of 1992. The judges on these courts are elected at-large in circuitwide or countywide non-partisan elections. There is no residency requirement other than residency within the circuit or county. A majority vote requirement applies to judicial elections, so that if the leading candidate fails to garner a majority in the primary, he or she must participate in a runoff against the next highest vote-getter in the general election. Candidates must run for designated seats on the court, and must pay a candidate qualifying fee of five and one-half percent of the annual salary of the office. See Fla.Stat. § 105.031 (Supp.1992). This qualifying fee amounts to approximately $5,000 for circuit court positions and approximately $4,400 for county court positions based on current salaries. A petition process also exists whereby a candidate may avoid paying the qualifying fee by obtaining a sufficient number of signatures from qualified persons. See Fla.Stat. § 105.035. Candidates for circuit and county judge run in a non-partisan primary. A. Ability to draw a majority black subdistrict Plaintiffs allege that a subdistrict containing a black voting age population majority can be created within the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. Plaintiffs’ expert demographer, Jerry Wilson, has drawn a subdistrict that is 60.09% black in voting age population and that Plaintiffs allege could be used to elect six of the twenty-eight judges in a circuit court subdistricting plan, and three of the twelve judges in a county court subdistricting plan. Defendants did not present testimony by a demographer concerning the ability to draw a black majority subdistrict. B. Racially Polarized Voting To establish racial polarization in circuit and county judicial elections, both sides offered expert testimony and statistical evidence. Plaintiffs offered the testimony of Dr. Allan Lichtman, Professor of History at the American University, Washington, D.C. Dr. Lichtman studied the six circuit and county judicial elections in which black candidates have competed against white candidates since 1972. Dr. Lichtman did not analyze any circuit or county judicial elections in which only white candidates were involved. Dr. Lichtman also chose to analyze numerous elections for offices not at issue in this litigation (“exogenous” elections) as a means of demonstrating racial polarization in the judicial elections at issue. An election bearing strong similarities to the at-issue elections was Joseph Hatchett’s 1976 election to the Florida Supreme Court. Lichtman also included partisan elections such as Jesse Jackson’s presidential primaries in 1984 and 1988, Alcee Hastings’s various runs for statewide office, and elections for city council and civil service board. All of the non-judicial elections analyzed by Lichtman involved black candidates in competition against white candidates. Almost all of these exogenous elections were of a partisan nature. Defendants relied on two expert witnesses, Dr. Ronald Weber, Professor of Government at the University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Joan Haworth, former Professor of Economics at Florida State University and currently President of Economic Research Services, Inc. Drs. Weber and Haworth analyzed many of the same elections as Dr. Lichtman, and also examined a substantial number of elections not analyzed by Dr. Lichtman. Dr. Weber, like Dr. Lichtman, analyzed elections for circuit and county judge' between 1972 and 1990. However, whereas Lichtman only considered judicial elections where a black candidate ran for office against one or more white candidates, Weber also considered elections for circuit and county judge in which only white candidates participated. With regard to nonjudicial exogenous elections, Weber argued that only those non-judicial elections for low visibility offices similar to judgeships would be of importance in a judicial elections case. Weber questioned Lichtman’s reliance on high visibility elections for statewide or national office, such as the presidential primaries participated in by Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988. These experts used the same or similar statistical techniques to analyze the electoral results at issue. Drs. Lichtman, Weber, and Haworth used ecological regression analysis and extreme case analysis to study the voting behavior of the circuit and county electorates. Ecological regression analysis permits estimation of the voting behavior of racial groups through comparison of the racial composition of the population at each precinct to the division of the vote among competing candidates at each precinct. The regression analysis uses data from all of the precincts participating in an election, and produces estimates of the voting behavior of both whites and blacks. Extreme case analysis looks at voting results in precincts that are 90% or more black in voter registration and compares them with the results in precincts that are 90% or more white in voter registration to see if there are differences in the level of support given to candidates of different races in those precincts. Between 1972 and 1990 there were six contested elections for circuit and county court judgeships in which black candidates ran, involving candidacies for five seats. The elections and black candidates, respectively, were: (1) 1972 Primary, Circuit Court, Leander Shaw; (2) 1972 Runoff, Circuit Court, Leander Shaw; (8) 1978 Primary, Circuit Court, Harrell Buggs; (4) 1978 Primary, Duval County Court, Alfred Washington; (5) 1984 Primary, Duval County Court, Denise Prescod; (6) 1984 Primary, Duval County Court, Dietra Micks. Thus, only two of these elections occurred within six years of the filing of the instant suit, while the remaining four elections are well over a decade old. According to the ecological regression studies, the majority of black voters supported the black candidate in each of these six elections, while the majority of white voters always opted for the white candidate, resulting in the defeat of all the black candidates except for Leander Shaw’s win in the 1972 primary. In the six elections, black support for the black candidate ranged from 73% to 98%, white support for the black candidate ranged from 3% to 33%, black support for the white candidate ranged from 2% to 27%, and white support for the white candidate ranged from 67% to 97%. The extreme case analysis shows very similar results in the Shaw, Buggs, Washington, Prescod, and Micks judicial elections. The Court has also considered results from judicial elections not involving black candidates during the same 1972-1990 period. During this period, there were a total of nineteen contested elections for circuit judge. The two Shaw elections analyzed above and the Buggs election are included in the total of nineteen. The black candidate of choice won 68% of the contested circuit court elections (thirteen of nineteen elections). Also, during 1972-1990 there were twenty-four contested elections for Duval County Court judge. The Micks, Prescod, and Washington elections are included in the total of twenty-four. The black candidate of choice won 58% of the contested county court elections (fourteen of twenty-four elections). For Dr. Weber’s complete statistical analysis of the 1972-1990 circuit and county "court elections not involving black candidates, which the Court adopts as findings of fact for statistical purposes only, see Defendants’ exhibit 22. With regard to elections other than for circuit and county judge, the 1976 Florida Supreme Court election involving Joseph Hatchett has the most relevance to the issues in this case. The Hatchett race was a statewide judicial election in which Hatchett ran against a white candidate. Dr. Lichtman’s regression estimates, which the Court adopts as findings of fact on this point, show that a majority of white voters in the circuit and in Duval County supported Hatchett’s reelection, coupled with virtually unanimous support from black voters. The expert witnesses also analyzed a number of non-judicial exogenous elections. For regression analysis of Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential primary elections; Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 presidential primary election; Alcee Hasting’s 1970 U.S. Senate primary election, 1990 Secretary of State primary election, and 1990 Secretary of State runoff election; see Tables 3 and 5 of Dr. Lichtman’s report, which the Court adopts as findings of fact. For regression analysis of thirty-four elections including contests for City Council At-large, Civil Services Board, State Representative, Supervisor of Elections, Mayor, and a constitutional amendment, see Dr. Haworth’s report at Appendix C and Appendix H, which the Court also adopts as findings of fact. For the reasons set forth in the Conclusions of Law, the Court has accorded little weight to these non-judicial, exogenous elections. C. Electoral Structure Judicial elections in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County are at-large elections, accompanied by a majority vote requirement, a numbered-place system, and the use of staggered terms. D. History of discrimination in Florida and its current effects on black participation in the political process Florida has a history of discrimination against black citizens with respect to the franchise. The devices employed by Florida to disfranchise or discriminate against black citizens included: (1) the expungement of black voters from the voting lists in the 1880s; (2) a poll tax, enacted in 1889; (3) a multiple ballot statute, enacted in 1889; (4) the direct primary (also known as the “white primary”), adopted in 1901, whereby blacks were excluded from participating in nominating the Democratic Party candidate; and, (5) a requirement that officeholders post bonds; adopted in 1885. These laws applied to all elections, including judicial elections. None of these discriminatory devices are currently in effect in Florida. The poll tax, a facially neutral requirement that applied to all voters, was abolished by the State of Florida in 1939. The multiple ballot requirement was abolished in the 1940s. The direct primary was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 1945. The bond posting requirement, which applied to all candidates and had its. origins in England, was removed by the 1968 Florida Constitution. In addition, Florida has a history of discrimination and segregation in other areas. Transportation facilities were segregated until the 1950s. Florida’s public schools and facilities were segregated for many years. However, none of the three counties within the Fourth Judicial Circuit have ever been subject to the preclearance provisions of section five of the Voting Rights Act. Until 1958, Florida refused to permit black citizens to attend the University of Florida College of Law. The law school at Florida A & M, which was created in 1951 as a law school for black students, was not accredited until several years later. Florida A & M’s law school was abolished in 1967, one year after the creation of the Florida State University College of Law. Plaintiffs also introduced a report issued in 1990 by the Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission. This Report documented numerous features of Florida’s justice system that allegedly have an adverse effect on the dispensation of justice to minority citizens, including the underrepresentation of minorities in the judiciary in comparison to the percentage of minorities in the total population. See generally Report and Recommendations of the Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission (Dec. 11, 1990). E.Socio-economic effects of discrimination Statistical evidence presented in this case indicates that black citizens in Florida still suffer in some ways from the effects of Florida’s history of purposeful discrimination. Blacks in the Fourth Judicial Circuit have lower median incomes than whites, and blacks are more likely to have incomes below the poverty level than whites. Blacks have lower rates of high school and college graduation than whites, and are more likely to be unemployed. Blacks also are more likely than whites to live in households without access to a car or telephone, and have lower rates of home ownership and lower home values than whites. Thus, blacks in Florida and the Fourth Circuit are not as well off economically as whites. Statistics on black and white political participation in Florida and the Fourth Judicial Circuit show little disparity. Specifically, black voting age population is 19.1% of the total voting age population of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. The number of black registered voters is 19.9% of the total number of registered voters in the circuit. Similarly, black voting age population is 21.9% of the total voting age population of Duval County. The number of black registered voters is 22.7% of the total number of registered voters in the county. Thus, blacks of voting age are registered at higher rates than whites of voting age in both the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. Two other statistical measures of black political participation are relevant. First, black voter turnout generally appears to be comparable to white voter turnout in judicial elections, although at slightly lower levels. In any event, no comprehensive evidence of black and white voter turnout for elections in the Fourth Judicial Circuit or Duval County was submitted to the Court. Second, the “rolloff” effect — the number of voters who sign-in at the polls but fail to cast a vote for an election — is greater among black voters than for white voters. F. Candidate Slating Process There is no evidence that a candidate slating process has been used to prevent black candidates from seeking circuit or county judgeships. The opportunity to seek judicial office is equally open to all qualified persons. G. Use of Racial Appeals in Campaigns Plaintiffs concede that there is no evidence that white candidates for judicial offices have used racially-biased appeals to exclude black candidates from circuit or county judgeships. More specifically, there is no evidence that racial appeals were used in any of the circuit or county judicial elections analyzed by the parties. H. Extent of electoral success At the time of trial there was one black judge among the twenty-eight circuit court judges and two black judges among the twelve county court judges. Thus, 7.5% of the forty circuit and county judges are black. Judge Henry Adams on the circuit court attained office by virtue of appointment to a vacancy, and has not been opposed for his subsequent election. The same is true with county court Judge Alfred Washington. The second black county court judge, James Ruth, was appointed within the last year and has never stood for re-election. The evidence of black electoral success is mixed. The black circuit and county judges who have faced reelection have been unopposed and, of course, successful in their reelection bids. In a similar judicial election, Joseph Hatchett’s 1976 Supreme Court election, the incumbent Hatchett defeated a white candidate. Hatchett garnered a majority of the white vote in both the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. No black candidate has won a contested election for circuit or county judge at least since 1972. Of course, there have been no contested elections for circuit or county judge involving black candidates, other than the Shaw, Buggs, Washington, Prescod, and Micks elections. A review of non-judicial elections shows similar mixed results. Black candidates have had modest success in county elections. Earl Johnson won a city council at-large seat in 1967, and was reelected in 1971, 1975, and 1979. However, no black candidate has won a contested circuitwide or countywide election for any office since 1979. With the exception of Earl Johnson, many successful black candidates were incumbents by virtue of appointment. Harold Gibson and Gwendolyn Leapheart were incumbents by virtue of appointment when they won elections in 1975 and 1979, respectively, for the Civil Service Board in Duval County. I. Responsiveness Witnesses called by both parties agreed that the current circuit and county judges are fair and impartial in "the dispensation of justice. J. State Interests in Maintaining the Current System a. Eligibility requirements Under the Florida Constitution, a candidate for circuit judge must have been a member in good standing of the Florida Bar for at least five years prior to his or her obtaining judicial office. Fla. Const, art. V, § 8. Candidates for Duval County Judge must meet the same criteria. These requirements, the legality of which have not been challenged in this case, substantially limit the eligible pool of qualified judicial candidates. To illustrate this point, Dr. Haworth analyzed three categories of attorneys in the Florida Bar. First, Dr. Haworth calculated the number of black attorneys as a percent of the total attorneys of the Florida Bar located in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. Second, Dr. Haworth analyzed the percentage of black attorneys eligible to be circuit or county judges. Finally, Dr. Haworth analyzed the percentage of attorneys with years of experience in the Florida Bar similar to those possessed by the incumbent judges when they were first selected (this group was termed the “likely pool” of candidates). Dr. Haworth’s report, which the Court adopts as findings of fact on this point, demonstrates that black attorneys constitute only four percent of the total pool of attorneys in the circuit, three percent of the eligible attorneys in the circuit, and two and one-half percent of the likely pool of attorneys in the circuit. Virtually identical percentages exist for black attorneys in Duval County as well. b. Maintaining circuit-wide scheme for single-member offices Several state interests have been asserted in support of the current at-large system. Defendants assert that the state has a valid interest in allowing each citizen within the jurisdiction which the judge serves to have the right to vote on each judge who might hear his or her case. Defendants assert that maintaining a link between a trial judge’s jurisdiction and elective base serves to foster judicial independence while maintaining judicial accountability. Defendants also contend that a system of single-member districts or sub-districts would place added pressure on elected judges to respond to their specific electoral constituents when one of their constituents is involved in litigation against a nonresident of that subdistrict. It is also argued that subdistricts (and any system based on cumulative or limited voting) would generate more ideological, less impartial, judges. K. Special circumstances Several special circumstances are highly relevant to the issues in this case, and are discussed below. These are: (1) the role of incumbency; (2) the appointment process and its role in judicial selection and election; and, (S) special factors present in the judicial elections under challenge in which black candidates participated. i. Incumbency Only one of the twenty-eight current incumbent circuit judges has faced electoral opposition after his initial appointment or election. None of the twelve current incumbent county judges has faced electoral opposition after his initial appointment or election. In judicial elections, incumbency and name recognition are the primary factors behind electoral success. ii. The appointment process Florida law requires the Governor to fill vacancies in the circuit and county courts by appointment. Fla. Const, art. V, sec. ll(b & d). The Governor must appoint one of at least three nominees submitted to him by the Fourth Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission (hereinafter “Commission”). Id. The Commission consists of nine members. Three members are appointed by the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar and must be attorneys in good standing of the Florida Bar. Id. sec. 20(5). Three members are appointed by the Governor and may or may not be attorneys. Id. These six appointed members must then select three additional members who may not be members of the Florida Bar. Id. Members of the Commission must reside or practice law within the territory of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Id. Currently, three of the nine Commission members are minorities; in general, two of the nine Commission members for the past decade have been minorities. Of the twenty-eight current circuit judges, seventeen were originally appointed to the circuit court. Similarly, five of the twelve current county judges were originally appointed to the county court. The power of incumbency makes the appointment process especially relevant, since incumbent judges are rarely challenged. The appointment process is the primary vehicle by which judges on the circuit and county courts initially obtain office. In addition, the appointment process is equally open to qualified minority and non-minority attorneys. Statistics provided by the Commission indicate that from 1987 to 1991, the Commission accepted applications for eleven circuit and county court vacancies. Of the total number of applicants, approximately eleven percent were black attorneys. An almost identical percentage of blacks were among the total number of nominees sent by the Commission to the Governor. Nine percent of the total appointments made by the Governor during this period were black (specifically, the county judge appointment in the summer of 1991). Hi. Special factors Plaintiffs have relied heavily on the judicial elections involving black candidates (the Shaw, Buggs, Washington, Prescod, and Micks elections), even contending that elections not involving black candidates should not be analyzed. While the Court has already discussed the statistics on racial polarization for these elections, other important facts about those elections should also be noted. In particular, in Harrell Buggs’s unsuccessful 1978 bid for circuit judge, Buggs challenged an incumbent judge. Also, at the time of Alfred Washington’s unsuccessful bid for county judge in 1978, Washington had resided in the community for only a short period of time. Washington ran against a person who had been in the community for a much longer period of time with an established law practice. In Denise Prescod’s unsuccessful 1984 bid for county judge, Prescod ran against an incumbent judge who was known as an extremely vigorous campaigner. In addition, in 1984 Prescod had been a member of the Florida Bar for only two years. Another unique factor in the Prescod election was that her opponent, County Judge Westberry, was a non-lawyer judge, and received very poor ratings from the local bar prior to the 1984 election. IV. Conclusions of Law The Supreme Court has stated that a district court should perform “ ‘an intensely local appraisal of the design and impact’ ” of the electoral system at issue in a vote dilution case. Gingles, 478 U.S. at 79, 106 S.Ct. at 2781 (quoting Rogers v. Lodge, 458 U.S. 613, 621, 102 S.Ct. 3272, 3278, 73 L.Ed.2d 1012 (1982)). The Court must conduct a “searching practical evaluation of the ‘past and present reality’ ” of the electoral system’s operation. Gingles, 478 U.S. at 45, 106 S.Ct. at 2764 (quoting S.Rep. at 30, 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. at p. 208). The Court must also evaluate the claim of vote dilution with a “functional,” not a formalistic, view of the political process. Gingles, 478 U.S. at 45, 106 S.Ct. at 2764. With these general principles in mind, in addition to the legal standards reviewed in section II of this opinion, the Court will evaluate the Plaintiffs’ claim of vote dilution. A. Ability to draw a majority black subdistrict As a prerequisite to establishing a claim of vote dilution, “[t]he minority group must be able to demonstrate that it is sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district.” Gingles, 478 U.S. at 50, 106 S.Ct. at 2766. Plaintiffs presented expert testimony which indicated that a sub-district containing a 60.09% black voting age population can be created within the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. The Court finds that Plaintiffs have demonstrated that blacks are a sufficiently large and geographically compact group to constitute a majority in a subdistrict. B. Racially Polarized Voting Plaintiffs must prove that racially polarized voting patterns exist in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. In order to show racially polarized voting, Plaintiffs must show that blacks as a group are politically cohesive, and that the white majority votes sufficiently as a bloc to enable the majority usually to defeat the minority’s preferred candidate. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 51, 106 S.Ct. at 2766. Before a determination can be made on the issue of racial polarization, a court must decide which elections to analyze. The most probative elections to analyze are those involving the offices under challenge — elections for circuit and county judge. See, e.g., Carrollton Branch v. Stallings, 829 F.2d 1547, 1558 (11th Cir.1987). Both parties agree that, at a minimum, elections involving black candidates for circuit and county judge must be analyzed. On their face, the voting estimates for the Shaw, Buggs, Washington, Prescod, and Micks judicial elections indicate that voting was racially polarized in those elections. Stated differently, the estimates show that blacks were politically cohesive in those judicial elections, and that the white majority voted sufficiently as a bloc to enable the majority to usually defeat the black minority’s preferred candidate. The regression estimates and extreme case analyses show that in these elections, black support for the black candidate ranged from 73% to 98%, white support for the black candidate ranged from 3% to 33%, black support for the white candidate ranged from 2% to 27%, and white support for the white candidate ranged from 67% to 97%. See Appendices A & B. These statistics would ordinarily make out a sufficient showing of racial polarization in these six judicial elections. However, the judicial elections involving black candidates in this case are stale. The most recent of these elections, the Micks and Prescod bids for Duval County Judge, occurred in 1984, approximately six years prior to the filing of this lawsuit. All of the other four elections—the 1972 Shaw circuit judge primary and runoff, the 1978 Buggs circuit election, and the 1978 Washington county election—were over a decade old when this case was filed. These stale elections set this case apart from other vote dilution cases, where normally at least some elections for the offices under challenge occurring within one or two years of the lawsuit are relied upon. See, e.g., Gringles, 478 U.S. 30, 106 S.Ct. 2752; Solomon, 899 F.2d 1012. If no black candidates have participated in elections for the offices under challenge, then recent results from elections similar to the elections under challenge are often used. See, e.g., Hall, 955 F.2d at 1570-71; Carrollton, 829 F.2d at 1558. Reliable election results from elections in the offices under challenge are particularly important in this case because of the uniqueness of judicial elections. Elections for circuit and county judge are nonpartisan, and are of a much lower profile than most partisan elections. As illustrated by Dr. Haworth’s statistics on the number of voters who show up to the polls but do not vote for a judicial candidate, elections for circuit and county judge are of substantially lesser interest to the local electorate than are partisan, non-judicial elections. Thus, it is crucial to have reliable judicial election results in a vote dilution challenge to a judicial election system, simply because most exogenous elections are substantially dissimilar to judicial elections. Cf. League of United Latin American Citizens v. Clements, 914 F.2d 620, 631 (5th Cir.1990), rev’d, Houston Lawyers, 111 S.Ct. 2376 (noting that “[¿judicial officers and judicial selection processes are sui generis—”). The Court is not aware of any statute of limitations that applies to vote dilution cases. However, the stale nature of the judicial elections involving black candidates has some adverse effect on the probative value of those elections. Defendants contend that all elections for circuit and county judge from 1972 to 1990 must be analyzed before this Court can determine whether racially polarized voting exists, regardless of whether a black candidate participated in the election or not. Considering this broader set of elections, the black candidate of choice won 68% of the contested circuit court elections, and the black candidate of choice won 58% of the contested county court elections. Clearly, when all elections for circuit and county judge from 1972 to 1990 are considered, Plaintiffs have failed to prove that the white majority votes sufficiently as a bloc to enable it to usually defeat the minority’s preferred candidate. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 49, 106 S.Ct. at 2765-66. Due to the stale nature of the judicial elections involving black candidates, a compelling argument can be made that all elections for circuit and county judge from 1972 to 1990 should be considered in determining racial polarization, regardless of the race of the candidates. Furthermore, a plurality of the Supreme Court has stated that “the race of the candidate per se is irrelevant to racial bloc voting analysis.” Gingles, 478 U.S. at 67, 106 S.Ct. at 2775 (emphasis in original); see also Carrollton, 829 F.2d at 1558 (stating that “it is the race of the voter, not of the candidate, which is of concern in racial polarization claims”). The Gingles plurality went on to state that “[u]nder § 2, it is the status of the candidate as the chosen representative of a particular racial group, not the race of the candidate, that is important.” Gingles, supra (emphasis in original). If this statement were the law of the land, this Court would be required to give equal weight to all elections for circuit and county judge from 1972 to 1990, regardless of the race of the candidates. For the following reasons, the Court will give some weight to the circuit and county judicial elections between 1972 and .1990 that did not involve black candidates, although the judicial elections involving black candidates are of greater importance. First, only a plurality of the Supreme Court agreed that the race of the candidate is irrelevant. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 82-83, 106 S.Ct. at 2783 (White, J., concurring), and 478 U.S. at 101, 106 S.Ct. at 2792 (O’Connor, J., concurring in the judgment). Second, the Gingles Court itself only analyzed elections involving black candidates, although this may have merely been a result of the record developed by the district court. Intermediate appellate courts are also divided on this issue. The Fifth Circuit has held that district courts should focus only on elections involving minority candidates unless elections involving only white candidates offer minority voters the choice of a “viable minority candidate.” See Campos v. City of Baytown, 840 F.2d 1240, 1245 (5th Cir.1988). The Eleventh Circuit, in Carrollton, noted that a plurality of the Supreme Court has stated that it is the race of the voter, not of the candidate, which is of concern in vote dilution claims. See Carrollton, 829 F.2d at 1558. However, the Carrollton court had no occasion to decide whether elections not involving minority candidates should be considered. Therefore, without any specific guidance from the appellate courts, this Court will fashion a rule based on the available precedent. This Court will refuse to adopt the Plaintiffs’ argument that a black candidate will automatically be preferred by black voters over a white candidate. While this Court does not sit as a pollster, it is fair to say that in a judicial election in Duval County between Clarence Thomas and William Brennan, there would probably be a substantial difference of opinion among black voters as to their candidate of choice. At the same time, the appellate courts do appear to give elections involving black candidates more importance than elections that do not involve black candidates. For these reasons, the Court will give the circuit and county judicial elections involving black candidates primary importance, and give the circuit and county judicial elections involving only white candidates secondary importance. Evaluating the evidence under this standard, Plaintiffs have failed to prove that racially polarized voting exists in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. When a black candidate runs for judicial office, the black candidate is always supported by the overwhelming majority of black voters; however, as the following discussion will illustrate, the black candidate is not usually defeated by white bloc voting in the absence of special circumstances. Several reasons support this Court’s conclusion. First, as noted earlier, the judicial elections involving black candidates are stale, thus providing a less reliable indicator of current polarization. Second, when judicial elections not involving black candidates are included in the analysis, the black candidate of choice for circuit or county judge wins the majority of the time. Most importantly, special circumstances in several of the judicial elections involving black candidates are damaging to the Plaintiffs’ attempt to prove racial polarization. In Gingles, the Supreme Court stated that minority electoral success does not foreclose a vote dilution claim if that success can be explained by special circumstances, such as the minority candidate running unopposed, or the fact that the minority candidate ran as an incumbent. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 57, 106 S.Ct. at 2770. The converse of this proposition must also be true. That is, any balanced consideration of a vote dilution claim should also take into account any special circumstances that may explain minority electoral failure in a polarized contest. In particular, the same special circumstances identified by the Gingles Court to explain minority success — incumbency and the absence of an opponent — should be considered in analyzing elections in which minority candidates have been defeated. In this case, special circumstances exist in at least two of the six elections for circuit and county judge in which black candidates participated. In the 1978 election for circuit judge involving black candidate Harrell Buggs, Buggs challenged an incumbent judge. Similarly, in the 1984 election for county judge involving Denise Prescod, Prescod also challenged an incumbent judge. Given the undeniable power of incumbency in judicial elections, the probative value of these two elections is significantly diminished on the issue of racial polarization. Thus, of the six judicial elections for circuit and county judge involving black candidates, only the 1972 Shaw runoff, the 1978 Washington election, and the 1984 Micks election can be considered strong evidence of racial polarization in the absence of special circumstances. The Buggs and Prescod elections are better viewed as evidence of the power of incumbency rather than as strong evidence of racial polarization. And, of course, Shaw actually “won” the 1972 circuit judge primary by finishing first and advancing to the runoff. Therefore, in only three of the six judicial elections for circuit and county judge did white bloc voting operate to defeat the black candidate in the absence of special circumstances. This fifty percent showing of black electoral failure falls short of the Gingles requirements, since the Supreme Court has stated that vote dilution only occurs where white bloc voting usually is able to defeat the black candidate, in the absence of special circumstances. The exogenous elections, to the extent that they are relevant, tend to support these conclusions. Unquestionably, the election which is most analogous and relevant to the elections under .challenge is Joseph Hatchett’s successful 1976 election to the Florida Supreme Court. Hatchett won almost unanimous support from black voters and won a majority of white voters in the circuit and county. However, Hatchett, a black, ran as an incumbent in the 1976 election, and thus the probative value of his election is diminished by the special circumstance of incumbency. The Court further finds that statistical evidence from other exogenous elections is inconclusive on the issue of racial polarization. Black candidates achieved some electoral success in local at-large elections in the 1970s, and recently a black candidate was successful in a Republican primary election. On the other hand, several recent presidential and other high profile elections have been characterized by racially polarized voting. In any event, these elections are entitled to little weight due to the significant differences between judicial and non-judicial elections in Florida, and because of the significant number of judicial elections available for analysis. In evaluating the issue of racial polarization, the Court has also considered non-statistical evidence (such as lay testimony), and has reviewed the other Senate Report factors. See Hall, 955 F.2d at 1573. The lay testimony confirmed much of the statistical analysis; that is, the lay testimony showed that black judicial candidates were defeated by white bloc voting in three instances, but that important special circumstances were present in the Buggs and Prescod elections. As for the Senate Report factors (which are fully discussed infra ), these factors overwhelmingly support and confirm the Court’s findings on the issue of racial polarization. In summary, after considering all the relevant evidence, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to make a sufficient showing of racially polarized voting in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. This finding alone requires a ruling in favor of the Defendants. However, in the interests of providing a comprehensive opinion, the Court will consider Defendants’ proof of other objective factors in rebuttal that indicate, under the totality of the circumstances, that the voting community is not driven by racial bias. See Solomon, 899 F.2d at 1035 (Tjoflat, J., concurring specially). C. Electoral Structure The Court finds that the electoral structure of the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County has little, if any, effect on black voters’ opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. As the above discussion has illustrated, judicial elections are at-large elections. The effect of the at-large nature of the elections has been considered above in the Court’s analysis of racial polarization. in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. The Court further finds that the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County are not unreasonably large election districts. The print, radio, and television media provide all candidates with an avenue to reach the circuit and county voters. The state also has valid interests — promoting administrative flexibility in scheduling, and deterring forum shopping — in having a multi-county circuit court and a single county court, as opposed to a subdistrict system. Furthermore, Plaintiffs have failed to show that the size of the election districts impedes black voters in any material way. The black voting age population is registered in a greater proportion than is the white voting age population, and no showing has been made that the size of these election districts has any adverse effect on black voter turnout. To hold otherwise would be to rely on pure speculation. Similarly, there is no convincing evidence that the size of these election districts impedes black judicial candidates in any material way. Florida also employs a majority vote requirement, a numbered place system, and staggered terms. The majority vote requirement can result in a situation where the black candidate advances in the primary but loses in a runoff election, such as the 1972 circuit court election involving Leander Shaw. However, the Court finds that Florida has a valid interest in requiring that a successful judicial candidate gain the support of a majority of the voters. This requirement also works to help black and white incumbent judges remain in office, because the name recognition provided by incumbency provides the incumbent a substantial advantage in gaining majority support. Florida also maintains a numbered place system, whereby a candidate for circuit or county judge must run for a designated seat. This requirement undeniably protects incumbents, since a non-incumbent candidate is virtually required to challenge an incumbent judge, unless the seat is open. The Court finds that the use of a numbered place system furthers the State’s interest in reducing the number of contested judicial elections, by not pitting incumbent judges against each other in each election. Furthermore, the numbered place requirement helps black and white voters elect judges of their choice by protecting both black and white incumbent judges from facing a contested election at the expiration of each term. Indeed, only one of the forty current circuit and county judges has faced electoral opposition after his or her initial appointment or election. Finally, the Court finds that the use of staggered terms has no effect on black voters’ ability to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice. This requirement simply serves the State’s legitimate interest in maintaining a stable judiciary by ensuring that there will not be large-scale judicial turnover in any single electoral year. D. History of Discrimination It is undisputed that Florida has a history of discrimination against its black citizens. In the past, Florida has employed devices which have had the purpose or effect of depriving black voters of electoral power. These devices include the expungement of black voters from voting lists, a poll tax, a multiple ballot statute, the direct primary, and a requirement that officeholders post bonds. However, none of these discriminatory devices have been in effect for decades. Florida’s history of official discrimination in the areas of public transportation and education is similarly remote. This is important, since a state’s history of discrimination is relevant only to the extent that it affects the rights of the members of the minority group to register, to vote, or otherwise to participate in the democratic process. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 36-37 and 69, 106 S.Ct. at 2759 and 2776; see Carrollton, 829 F.2d at 1561 (requiring some causal connection between past discrimination and low levels of black political participation). Statistics on political participation indicate that Florida’s history of discrimination has no cognizable current impact on black voters’ current ability to participate in the political process. The black voting age population in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County is actually registered at a higher rate than the white voting age population. No evidence introduced at trial indicated that Florida’s history of discrimination has any negative impact on black voter turnout in recent elections. In fact, testimony from black voters indicated that they have had no problems registering, voting, or participating in judicial elections. While there does appear to be a higher “rolloff” effect in judicial elections for blacks than whites, there is no evidence that this “rolloff” effect is attributable in any way to Florida’s history of discrimination. In sum, the Court finds that Florida’s history of discrimination has no current impact on black voters’ ability to participate in the political process for electing judges in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County. E.Socio-economic Effects of Discrimination It is undisputed that blacks in Florida still suffer from the socio-economic effects of past discrimination. Blacks in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County have lower median incomes than whites, are more likely to have incomes below the poverty line, have lower rates of education, lower rates of car ownership, and are more likely to be unemployed. Blacks in this area are simply not as well off economically as whites. However, the continuing socio-economic effects of past discrimination are only relevant in this case if they continue to “hinder [the minority group’s] ability to participate effectively in the political process.” Gingles, 478 U.S. at 37 and 69, 106 S.Ct. at 2759 and 2776 (stating that the relevant inquiry is the “impact of low socioeconomic status on a minority group’s level of political participation.”); see Hall, 955 F.2d at 1572; Carrollton, 829 F.2d at 1561-62. Based on the evidence in this case, the Court finds that the ability of black voters to participate effectively in the political process for electing circuit and county judges is not materially affected by the continuing socio-economic effects of past discrimination. As noted in the preceding section, black voters are actually registered at a higher rate than white voters, and there is no evidence to indicate that the lingering effects of discrimination have any material effect on black voter turnout or rolloff. The Court also finds that the costs of running for judicial office are not a significant barrier to prospective black candidates. Because the costs of maintaining a judicial campaign (at least in the numerous unopposed elections) are small in comparison to most non-judicial elections, the economic disparities between blacks and whites are largely immaterial to the election of circuit and county judges. In addition, the filing fees for judicial candidates are not “enormous,” contrary to Plaintiffs’ characterizations, and can be avoided altogether by a petition method, but cf. McMillan v. Escambia County, 748 F.2d 1037, 1044 n. 18 (11th Cir.1981), or can be paid with funds obtained from local lawyers or other sources. F.Candidate Slating Process There is no candidate slating process for judicial office in the Fourth Judicial Circuit or Duval County. Accordingly, Defendants have demonstrated that blacks are not prevented from seeking judicial office in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County by means of a candidate slating process. G.Use of Racial Appeals in Campaigns White candidates for judicial office in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Duval County have not used racial appeals to obtain judicial office for themselves or to exclude black candidates from judicial office. Thus, Defendants have demonstrated that racial appeals have not been used to exclude blacks from circuit or county judge-ships. H.Extent of Electoral Success The extent of minority electoral success is one of the two most important factors in this case, along with evidence of racial polarization. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 48-49 n. 15, 106 S.Ct. at 2765-66 n. 15. At the time of trial, three of the forty circuit and county judges were black. One of these three was appointed to a vacancy after this case was filed. Thus, at the time of trial, seven and one-half percent of the circuit and county judges were black, and, at the time this case was filed, five percent of the circuit and county judges were black. These percentages are low in comparison with the black percentage of the total electorate. However, Florida’s eligibility requirements for circuit and county judges significantly limit the number of qualified persons. Only lawyers who are members of the Florida Bar with five years experience are eligible to run for circuit or county judge. Statistics indicate that black attorneys who are members of the Florida Bar with five years experience account for only three percent of the total eligible attorneys in the circuit, and only two and one-half percent of the total attorneys with the likely range of experience for circuit and county judges at the time of their selection. Thus, since the percentage of black circuit and county judges is substantially greater than the percentage of black lawyers who are eligible or likely to be a circuit or county judge, it is an undeniable fact that black attorneys have actually had greater success in recent years in obtaining circuit or county judgeships than have white attorneys. Plaintiffs' reliance on comparisons of the racial composition of the population and the racial composition of the local judiciary is illogical and contrary to recent Supreme Court precedent. Cf. Wards Cove Packing Co., Inc. v. Atonio, 490 U.S. 642, 109 S.Ct. 2115, 2121, 104 L.Ed.2d 733 (1989) (stating, in the employment discrimination context, that the “ ‘proper comparison [is] between the racial composition of [the at-issue jobs] and the racial composition of the qualified ... population in the relevant labor market.’ ”) (quoting Hazelwood School Dist. v. United States, 433 U.S. 299, 308, 97 S.Ct. 2736, 2741, 53 L.Ed.2d 768 (1977)); City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469, 109 S.Ct. 706, 725, 102 L.Ed.2d 854 (1989) (stating that “wh