{"id":332,"date":"2023-06-07T19:31:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T23:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/georgia\/work\/common-cause-v-raffensperger\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T08:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:40:08","slug":"common-cause-v-raffensperger","status":"publish","type":"work","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/georgia\/work\/common-cause-v-raffensperger\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Cause v. Raffensperger"},"template":"","class_list":["post-332","work","type-work","status-publish","hentry","work_type-litigation"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Black voters in Georgia saw their voting power diminished in the last redistricting cycle. In response, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Georgia, and a group of Georgia voters filed a federal lawsuit challenging Georgia\u2019s congressional map.","featured_image":6650,"work_type":171,"related_issues":[62,400],"location":13},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Georgia, and a group of Georgia voters, represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Dechert LLP, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Georgia\u2019s 6th, 13th, and 14th congressional districts. \u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nCommon Cause v. Raffensperger<\/em> argues that these congressional districts violate the federal constitution and unlawfully diminishes the voting power of communities of color. The litigation describes how the newly drawn districts violate the Fourteenth Amendment by denying Black communities representation and therefore equal protection of the law. The suit also highlights the long history of the white majority in Georgia using racial discrimination to maintain political power and the persistent need for the federal government to step in to ensure maps allocate political power in a way that does not violate federal law or the Constitution.\r\n\r\nThe complaint explains how across these congressional districts, voters of color were either \u201cpacked\u201d into districts in greater numbers to reduce their voting strength in other districts or \u201ccracked\u201d across multiple districts to prevent the formation of a district where voters can elect a candidate of their choice. <\/span>Learn more about the complaint here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nOn February 3, 2022, this case was consolidated with <\/span>Georgia State Conf. of the NAACP v. Georgia<\/span><\/i>. On May 30, 2023, the three-judge panel considering this consolidated case held a hearing on the state defendants\u2019 motion for summary judgment.\u00a0<\/span>On October 17, 2023, the court denied the defendants' motions for summary judgment.\r\n\r\nOn November 1, 2023, the three-judge panel issued an order indefinitely staying the case, due to\u00a0 activity in parallel cases that found the existing maps violated the Voting Rights Act. <\/span>\u00a0On December 8, 2023, the Georgia legislature passed a new set of remedial maps, which were later approved by a federal district court. <\/span>In the parallel cases, the state has appealed the finding of a VRA violation to the Eleventh Circuit,\u00a0 and oral arguments were held on January 23, 2025.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRead our release here<\/a>."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Selected Case Filings<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n