• Redistricting

Pendergrass v. Raffensperger

12.30.2021
  • Georgia
  • Ongoing

Plaintiffs supported by the National Redistricting Foundation initiated a legal challenge against Georgia’s congressional map for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and diluting the voting strength of the state’s Black communities. The complaint detailed that the Black population in Georgia is sufficiently large and geographically compact to create an additional majority-Black congressional district in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Instead of drawing such a district, however, the Georgia General Assembly packed Black voters in the Atlanta metro area, while cracking others among rural, predominantly white districts. This case was consolidated with Grant v. Raffensperger – a legal challenge to Georgia’s state legislative maps, also initiated by the NRF. On February 28, 2022, the district court found that plaintiffs made their case that the congressional districts likely violated the Voting Rights Act; however, the court denied relief, concluding that there was not sufficient time to provide remedial relief for the 2022 elections.

Subsequently, the court held an eight-day bench trial in September 2023 in which it heard from dozens of witnesses. On October 26, 2023, the court issued its final order, which granted judgment for plaintiffs that Georgia’s congressional districts violated the Voting Rights Act. Now, the case is before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in two separate appeals— one considering the state’s appeal of our win on the merits and another considering our objection to the state’s new maps. Written briefing on both appeals is complete; oral argument on the liability appeal was held in January 2025, and oral argument on the remedial appeal was held on May 15. Decisions in both appeals remain pending.

Case Documents