CASE SUMMARY

On December 30, 2021, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and other civil and minority rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Georgia, its Governor, and its Secretary of State, challenging the state's enacted legislative and congressional redistricting plans as violating various provisions of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act. First, plaintiffs assert that various districts within the enacted congressional and legislative plans are racial gerrymanders in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because race was the predominant consideration in their creation and such use of race was not sufficiently justified. Second, plaintiffs allege that the congressional and legislative plans violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because they "crack" and "pack" minority populations throughout the state, thereby resulting in the dilution of Black, Latino, and Asian American Pacific Islander populations' voting strength. Finally, they assert that the enacted congressional and legislative plans were enacted with the purpose of discriminating against voters of color relative to White voters throughout the state in violation of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA. Plaintiffs are seeking a judicial declaration that the enacted congressional and legislative plans are unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, were enacted with an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose, and result in the dilution of minority voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the VRA; a permanent injunction barring the defendants from using the plans in any future elections; and a court order requiring the adoption of new, valid congressional and legislative plans. The plaintiffs have also requested that the court issue an order requiring Georgia to preclear voting changes during the next ten-year period pursuant to the "bail-in" provision of the Voting Rights Act.

On January 4, 2022, the district court appointed a three-judge panel to preside over the case. On February 3, the district court consolidated this case with another challenge to Georgia's congressional plan, Common Cause v. Raffensperger.

Related and Similar Cases: Common Cause v. Raffensperger; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. v. Raffensperger; Pendergrass v. Raffensperger; Grant v. Raffensperger

CASE LIBRARY

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division - No. 1:21-cv-5338

Georgia State Conf. of the NAACP v. Georgia
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