Sixth Dist. of the African Methodist Episcopal Church v. Kemp

574 F.Supp.3d 1260

SIXTH DISTRICT OF the AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.Brian KEMP, Governor of the State of Georgia, in his official capacity, et al., Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:21-cv-01284-JPB

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

Signed December 9, 2021

Brian Lawrence Dimmick, Pro Hac Vice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Tania Christine Faransso, Pro Hac Vice, Webb Lyons, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, Dale E. Ho, Pro Hac Vice, Davin M. Rosborough, Pro Hac Vice, Jonathan S. Topaz, Pro Hac Vice, Sophia Lin Lakin, Pro Hac Vice, Ihaab Syed, Pro Hac Vice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Debo P. Adegbile, Pro Hac Vice, Ilya Feldsherov, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, John Spencer Cusick, Pro Hac Vice, Leah C. Aden, Pro Hac Vice, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., New York, NY, George P. Varghese, Pro Hac Vice, Stephanie Lin, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Boston, MA, Nana Wilberforce, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Rahul Garabadu, Sean Young, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Atlanta, GA, Susan Mizner, The ACLU Foundation Disability Rights Program, Francisco, CA, Theresa J. Lee, Pro Hac Vice, Election Law Clinic, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, for Plaintiff Sixth District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Adam Sieff, Pro Hac Vice, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Courtney Turco DeThomas, Pro Hac Vice, David Morris Gossett, Pro Hac Vice, Davis, Wright, Tremaine LLP, Washington, DC, Grace Katherine Thompson, Pro Hac Vice, Kate Kennedy, Pro Hac Vice, Matthew R. Jedreski, Pro Hac Vice, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP, Seattle, WA, Nancy Gbana Abudu, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL, Pichaya Poy Winichakul, Southern Poverty Law Center, Decatur, GA, Rahul Garabadu, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiffs Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Women Watch Afrika, Latino Community Fund of Georgia.

Brian Lawrence Dimmick, Pro Hac Vice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Tania Christine Faransso, Pro Hac Vice, Webb Lyons, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, Dale E. Ho, Pro Hac Vice, Davin M. Rosborough, Pro Hac Vice, Jonathan S. Topaz, Pro Hac Vice, Sophia Lin Lakin, Pro Hac Vice, Ihaab Syed, Pro Hac Vice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Debo P. Adegbile, Pro Hac Vice, Ilya Feldsherov, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, John Spencer Cusick, Pro Hac Vice, Leah C. Aden, Pro Hac Vice, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., New York, NY, George P. Varghese, Pro Hac Vice, Stephanie Lin, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Boston, MA, Nana Wilberforce, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Nancy Gbana Abudu, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL, Rahul Garabadu, Sean Young, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Atlanta, GA, Susan Mizner, The ACLU Foundation Disability Rights Program, Francisco, CA, Theresa J. Lee, Pro Hac Vice, Election Law Clinic, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, for Plaintiff Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Pichaya Poy Winichakul, Southern Poverty Law Center, Decatur, GA, for Plaintiff The Arc of the United States.

Davin M. Rosborough, Pro Hac Vice, Jonathan S. Topaz, Pro Hac Vice, Ihaab Syed, Pro Hac Vice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, Rahul Garabadu, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Atlanta, GA, Theresa J. Lee, Pro Hac Vice, Election Law Clinic, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, for Plaintiffs Georgia Adapt, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Georgia Advocacy Office.

Erik Scott Jaffe, Pro Hac Vice, H. Christopher Bartolomucci, Pro Hac Vice, Riddhi Dasgupta, Pro Hac Vice, Gene C. Schaerr, Pro Hac Vice, Schaerr | Jaffe LLP, Washington, DC, Bryan Francis Jacoutot, Bryan P. Tyson, Loree Anne Paradise, Taylor English Duma LLP, Charlene S. McGowan, Office of the Georgia Attorney General, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger, Rebecca Sullivan, David Worley, Matthew Mashburn, Anh Le.

Cheryl Ringer, David R. Lowman, Kaye Woodard Burwell, Office of Fulton County Attorney, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant Fulton County Registration and Elections Board.

Stephanie Lin, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Boston, MA, for Defendant Kathleen D. Ruth.

Bennett Davis Bryan, Irene B. Vander Els, DeKalb County Law Department, Decatur, GA, for Defendants DeKalb County Board of Registrations and Elections, Anthony Lewis, Susan Motter, Dele L. Smith, Samuel E. Tillman, Baoky N. Vu.

Tuwanda Rush Williams, Melanie Felicia Wilson, Gwinnett County Department of Law, Lawrenceville, GA, for Defendants Gwinnett County Board of Registrations and Elections, Alice O'Lenick, Wandy Taylor, Stephen W. Day, George Awuku.

Daniel Walter White, Haynie, Litchfield & White, PC, Marietta, GA, for Defendants Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, Phil Daniell, Fred Aiken, Pat Gartland, Jessica M. Brooks, Daryl O. Wilson, Jr., Janine Eveler.

Michael Van Stephens, II, Hall County Board of Commissioners, Eric P. Wilborn, Kristin K. Bloodworth, Stewart Melvin & Frost, LLP, Gainesville, GA, for Defendant Hall County Board of Elections and Registration.

Michael Van Stephens, II, Hall County Board of Commissioners, Eric P. Wilborn, Stewart Melvin & Frost, LLP, Gainesville, GA, for Defendants Tom Smiley, David Kennedy, Ken Cochran, Craig Lutz, Gala Sheats.

Eric P. Wilborn, Stewart Melvin & Frost, LLP, Gainesville, GA, for Defendant Lori Wurtz.

Arash A. Sabzevari, Jack Reynolds Hancock, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, Forest Park, GA, for Defendants Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration, Darlene Johnson, Diane Givens, Carol Wesley, Dorothy F. Hall, Patricia Pullar, Shauna Dozier.

Rachel Nicole Mack, Augusta Georgia Law Department, Augusta, GA, for Defendants Richmond County Board of Elections, Tim McFalls, Sherry T. Barnes, Marcia Brown, Terence Dicks, Bob Finnegan, Lynn Bailey.

William H. Noland, Noland Law Firm, LLC, Macon, GA, for Defendants Bibb County Board of Elections, Mike Kaplan, Herbert Spangler, Rinda Wilson, Henry Ficklin, Cassandra Powell, Jeanetta R. Watson, Bibb County Board of Registrars, Veronica Seals.

Jennifer R. Davenport, Ralph Jonathan Hart, Chatham County Attorney, Savannah, GA, for Defendants Chatham County Board of Elections, Thomas J. Mahoney, Malinda Hodge, Marianne Heimes, Antan Lang, Chatham County Board of Registrars, Colin McRae, Wanda Andrews, William L. Norse, Jon Pannell, Randolph Slay.

Gregory C. Sowell, Cook & Tolley, LLP, Athens, GA, for Defendants Clarke County Board of Election and Voter Registration, Willa Jean Fambrough, Hunaid Qadir, Ann Till, Rocky Raffle, Adam Shirley, Charlotte Sosebee.

Jordan Bell, Thomas L. Cathey, Hull Barrett, PC, Augusta, GA, for Defendants Columbia County Board of Elections, Ann Cushman, Wanda Duffie, Larry Wiggins, Columbia County Board of Registrars, Nancy L. Gay.

Bryan P. Tyson, Taylor English Duma LLP, Atlanta, GA, Gene C. Schaerr, Schaerr Jaffe LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendant Georgia State Election Board.

ORDER

J. P. BOULEE, United States District Judge

Before the Court are the following motions:

1. Defendants Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger, Rebecca Sullivan, Sara Tindall Ghazal, Matthew Mashburn and Anh Le's (collectively "State Defendants") Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 87);

2. Defendants the county boards of election and registration for Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Hall, Clayton, Richmond, Bibb, Chatham, Clarke and Columbia Counties’ (collectively the "County Defendants") Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 90); and

3. Defendants Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee and Georgia Republican Party, Inc.’s (collectively "Intervenor Defendants") Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 100).¹

Having fully considered the papers filed therewith, the Court finds as follows:

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Sixth District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church ("AME Church"), Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Women Watch Afrika, Latino Community Fund Georgia, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Arc of the United States, Georgia Adapt, Georgia Advocacy Office and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (collectively "Plaintiffs") filed this action seeking injunctive and declaratory relief with respect to certain provisions of Georgia Senate Bill 202 ("SB 202").² Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 202 into law on March 25, 2021, and the challenged provisions regulate election-related processes and activities ranging from absentee ballot voting to out-of-precinct in-person voting.

Plaintiffs allege that the challenged provisions violate the United States Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and/or the Civil Rights Act. Specifically, Plaintiffs oppose the specified regulations on the following grounds: discrimination, undue burden on the right to vote, immaterial voting requirement and abridgement of free speech and expression.

II. DISCUSSION

County Defendants move to dismiss the Amended Complaint on standing grounds; Intervenor Defendants challenge Plaintiffs’ claims on the merits only; and State Defendants seek dismissal both on standing grounds and on the merits.

The Court will address the standing question first. See Cuban Am. Bar Ass'n v. Christopher , 43 F.3d 1412, 1422 (11th Cir. 1995) (stating that the Court is obligated " ‘to ensure it is presented with the kind of concrete controversy upon which its constitutional grant of authority is based’ " (quoting Hallandale Professional Fire Fighters Local 2238 v. City of Hallandale , 922...