preclearance

[ pree-kleer-uhns ]

noun

1. approval, authorization, or permission granted in advance:

   Under company procedures, certain high-ranking executives are only allowed to sell shares after obtaining preclearance.

2. Transportation. customs, security, or immigration authorization granted in advance for passengers or goods traveling or moving across borders (often used attributively):

   The preclearance facility at Terminal 2 allows outbound passengers to undertake all U.S. immigration, customs, and agriculture inspections prior to departure.

3. Law. under the U.S. Voting Rights Act, approval from the Justice Department or federal courts for changes to voting laws, processes, or districts (often used attributively):

   In order to prevent changes that have a discriminatory purpose or effect, certain jurisdictions are required to obtain preclearance before implementing new voting practices.

Word History and Origins

Origin of preclearance¹

First recorded in 1925–30; pre- ( def ) + clearance ( def )

Example Sentences

Under the former preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice or a federal court undoubtedly would have had to first review data about the reasoning for the Georgia board’s rule changes, the potential impact on voters of color, and any racialized rhetoric.

From Slate

From 1965 until 2013, Georgia was one of nine states whose ongoing history of racial discrimination in voting placed them under the federal preclearance provisions of the VRA, meaning that Georgia had to submit “any” changes it sought to make related to its voting and election practices or procedures for federal review prior to their implementation in elections.

From Slate

Although coordinated attacks on certification are a new phenomenon, there is evidence to support the claim that these challenges would fall under the types of changes subject to preclearance.

From Slate

It reached back to pre-Reconstruction cases about states’ rights to eviscerate the preclearance formula of the VRA, so that states with an ongoing history of discrimination, such as Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, were not “singled out.”

From Slate

As the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned in her dissent: Throwing out preclearance “is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”

From Slate