Case Summary
Southern Coalition for Social Justice has challenged the new 2022 districts for Cobb County School Board as racially gerrymandered on behalf of four individuals (Karen Finn, Dr. Jillian Ford, Hylah Daly, and Jenne Dulcio) as well as four local non-profits (Galeo Latino Community Development Fund, Inc., New Georgia Project Action Fund, League of Women Voters of MariettaCobb, and Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda Inc.). The action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia with partners from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Georgia ACLU, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the League of Women Voters, and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
In their complaint, plaintiffs allege school board members used racial demographic information to "pack" Black and Latinx voters into three of the seven school board voting districts (Districts 2, 3 and 6), limiting the opportunity for voters of color to elect their preferred candidate. The Cobb County School District intervened in the action, and then were dismissed from the matter pursuant to their own Motion to Dismiss the action. After the trial court granted plaintiffs' unopposed motion for a preliminary injunction, requiring a non-discriminatory map be used in the upcoming 2024 elections, the School Board sought to intervene again and appealed the order to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Eleventh Circuit stayed the Preliminary Injunction and held oral argument on May 14, 2024.
Why it's Important
The "packing" of Black and Latinx voters violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This form of gerrymandering attempts to undermine a fair democratic process that is inclusive and representative of all Cobb County residents.
