Commong Cause/Georgia v. Billups

• Decision Date: 18 October 2005
• Docket Number: No. CIVA. 4:05CV0201HLM.,CIVA. 4:05CV0201HLM.
• Citation: 406 F.Supp.2d 1326
• Parties: COMMON CAUSE/GEORGIA, League of Women Voters of Georgia, Inc., The Central Presbyterian Outreach and Advocacy Center, Inc., Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, Inc., The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Inc., through its Georgia State Conference of Branches, Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc., and the following qualified and registered voters under Georgia law: Mrs. Clara Williams, Plaintiffs, v. Ms. Evon BILLUPS, Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Voter Registration for Floyd County and the City of Rome, Georgia, Ms. Tracy Brown, Superintendent of Elections of Bartow County, Georgia, Mr. Gary Petty, Ms. Michelle Hudson, Ms. Amanda Spencer, Mr. Ron McKelvey, and Ms. Nina Crawford, members of the Board of Elections and Registration of Catoosa County, Georgia, Judge John Payne, Superintendent of Elections of Chattooga County, Georgia, Ms. Shea Hicks, Superintendent of Elections for Gordon County, Georgia, Ms. Jennifer A. Johnson, Superintendent of Elections for Polk County, Georgia, Mr. Sam Little, Superintendent of Elections for Whitfield County, Georgia, individually and in their respective official capacities as superintendents or members of the elections boards in their individual counties, and as class representatives under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 22(b)(1) and (b)(2) of a class consisting of all superintendents and members of city and county boards of elections throughout the State of Georgia, and Honorable Cathy Cox, individually and in her official capacities as Secretary of State of Georgia and Chair of the Georgia Elections Board, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

Page 1326

406 F.Supp.2d 1326

COMMON CAUSE/GEORGIA, League of Women Voters of Georgia, Inc., The Central Presbyterian Outreach and Advocacy Center, Inc., Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, Inc., The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Inc., through its Georgia State Conference of Branches, Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc., and the following qualified and registered voters under Georgia law: Mrs. Clara Williams, Plaintiffs, v. Ms. Evon BILLUPS, Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Voter Registration for Floyd County and the City of Rome, Georgia, Ms. Tracy Brown, Superintendent of Elections of Bartow County, Georgia, Mr. Gary Petty, Ms. Michelle Hudson, Ms. Amanda Spencer, Mr. Ron McKelvey, and Ms. Nina Crawford, members of the Board of Elections and Registration of Catoosa County, Georgia, Judge John Payne, Superintendent of Elections of Chattooga County, Georgia, Ms. Shea Hicks, Superintendent of Elections for Gordon County, Georgia, Ms. Jennifer A. Johnson, Superintendent of Elections for Polk County, Georgia, Mr. Sam Little, Superintendent of Elections for Whitfield County, Georgia, individually and in their respective official capacities as superintendents or members of the elections boards in their individual counties, and as class representatives under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 22(b)(1) and (b)(2) of a class consisting of all superintendents and members of city and county boards of elections throughout the State of Georgia, and Honorable Cathy Cox, individually and in her official capacities as Secretary of State of Georgia and Chair of the Georgia Elections Board, Defendants.

No. CIVA. 4:05CV0201HLM.

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

October 18, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David G.H. Brackett, Emmet J. Bondurant, II, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, Elizabeth Lynn Littrell, Gerald R. Weber, Margaret Fletcher Garrett, Meredith Bell-Platts, Moffatt Laughlin McDonald, Neil T. Bradley, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Miles J. Alexander, Seth Aaron Cohen, Kilpatrick Stockton, Ralph Irving Knowles, Jr., Doffermyre Shields Canfield Knowles & Devine, Tisha Rae Tallman, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (Maldef), Atlanta, GA, Edward Hine, Jr., Office of Edward Hine, Jr., Rome, GA, Jon M. Greenbaum, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Peter R. Olson, Jenkins & Olson, Cartersville, GA, Clifton M. Patty, Jr., Office of Clifton M. Patty, Jr., Ringgold, GA, Lewis Branch Sutton Connelly, Cook & Connelly, Summerville, GA, Anne Ware Lewis, Strickland Brockington Lewis, Mark Howard Cohen, Troutman Sanders, Stefan Ernst Ritter, Office of State Attorney General, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants.

ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

This case is an action to have the photo identification ("Photo ID") requirement in the 2005 amendment to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-417 (Act No. 53), declared unconstitutional both on its face and as applied, and to enjoin its enforcement on the ground that it imposes an unauthorized, unnecessary, and undue burden on the fundamental right to vote of hundreds of thousands of registered Georgia voters, in violation of article II, section 1, paragraph 2 of the Georgia Constitution, the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fourth Amendments to the federal Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.A. § 1971(a)(2)(A) and (a)(2)(B)), and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.A. § 1973(a)). The case is before the Court on Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction [2][23].

I. Background

A. The Parties

Plaintiff Common Cause/Georgia is a chapter of Common Cause, Inc. (Compl. ¶ 1(a).) Common Cause is a non-partisan citizen lobby organized as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the District of Columbia, and is devoted to causes such as electoral reform, ethics in government, and the protection and preservation of the rights of all citizens to vote in national, state, and local elections, including educating voters about voting rights and procedures. (Id.)

Plaintiff League of Women Voters of Georgia is a non-partisan Georgia nonprofit corporation that was founded in 1920. (Compl. ¶ 1(b).) Plaintiff League of Women Voters of Georgia's purpose is to encourage the informed and active participation by citizens in government at all levels, including the protection of the right of all citizens to vote and the education of voters about voting rights and procedures. (Id.)

Plaintiff The Central Presbyterian Outreach and Advocacy Center, Inc. is a Georgia non-profit corporation that provides support to people in poverty, including emergency services for basic human needs and assistance in achieving self-sufficiency, including assisting individuals in obtaining photo identification. (Compl. ¶ 1(c).)

Plaintiff Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, Inc. is an unincorporated association of more than 700 elected officials throughout the State of Georgia who regularly conduct election campaigns and seek the votes of all registered, eligible voters. (Compl. ¶ (d).) It also promotes voter registration, education, and participation, preserves minority voting rights, and fights to ensure that no qualified voters are turned away on Election Day for failure to possess a Photo ID card in violation of their right to vote. (Id.)

Plaintiff the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ("Plaintiff NAACP"), through its Georgia State Conference of Branches, is the nation's oldest civil rights organization. (Compl. ¶ 1(e).) Plaintiff NAACP was formed in 1909 by a multiracial group of activists, and has nationwide membership as well as members and offices in Georgia. (Id.) Plaintiff NAACP has advocated for the advancement and protection of voting rights for minorities, and, throughout its history, has fought for access to the ballot, for its members and for others. (Id.) It also has fought to ensure that racial minorities, low income people, and economically disadvantaged people have access to the ballot box and an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. (Id.)

Plaintiff Georgia Legislative Black Caucus ("Plaintiff GLBC") was formed in 1966 and consists of elected African-American members of the House and Senate of the Georgia General Assembly. (Compl. ¶ 1(f).) Plaintiff GLBC's members, as elected representatives, engage in election campaigns, seek votes of registered, eligible voters, and also seek to make certain that the right to vote of all eligible citizens is protected and that no eligible voters are discouraged or prevented from voting on election day for failure to possess a Photo ID card in violation of their right to vote. (Id.)

Plaintiff Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. is a non-partisan, interfaith religious organization of mostly African-American members and laity whose mission is to provide leadership, advocacy, and service to the poor, the homeless, and the helpless in the metropolitan Atlanta area, including protecting their rights as citizens to full participation in the democratic process, including the right to register and vote without undue interference. (Compl. ¶ 1(g).)

Plaintiff Clara Williams is an African-American and duly qualified and registered voter residing in the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia. (Compl. ¶ 1(h)(ii).) Plaintiff Williams does not possess a Georgia driver's license, passport, or other form of government-issued Photo ID, and cannot readily obtain a Photo ID card from the State Department of Driver Services. (Id.)

Defendant Evon Billups is the Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Voter Registration for Floyd County, Georgia, and is charged with the duty of conducting elections in Floyd County, Georgia, and the City of Rome, Georgia. (Compl. 2(a)(i).) Plaintiffs have sued Defendant Billups in her individual and official capacities. (Id.)

Defendant Tracy Brown is the Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Voter Registration for Bartow County, Georgia, and is charged with the duty of conducting elections in Bartow County, Georgia. (Compl. ¶ 2(a)(ii).) Plaintiffs have sued Defendant Brown in her official and individual capacities. (Id.)

Defendants Gary Petty, Michelle Hudson, Amanda Spencer, Ron McKelvey, and Nina Crawford are members of the Board of Elections and Voter Registration for Catoosa County, Georgia, and are charged with the duty of conducting elections in Catoosa County, Georgia. (Compl. 2(a)(iii).) Plaintiffs have sued those Defendants in their official and individual capacities. (Id.)

Defendant Judge John Payne is the Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Registrars for Chattooga County, Georgia, and is charged with the duty of conducting elections in Catoosa County, Georgia. (Compl. ¶ 2(a)(iv).) Plaintiffs have sued Defendant Payne in his official and individual capacities. (Id.)

Defendant Shea Hicks is the Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Registrations for Gordon County, Georgia, and is charged with the duty of conducting elections in Gordon County, Georgia. (Compl. ¶ 2(a)(v).) Plaintiffs have sued Defendant Hicks in her official and individual capacities. (Id.)

Defendant Jennifer A. Johnson is the Superintendent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Voter Registration for Polk County, Georgia, and is charged with the duty of conducting elections in Polk County, Georgia. (Compl. ¶ 2(a)(vi).) Plaintiffs have sued Defendant Johnson in her official and individual capacities. (Id.)

Defendant Sam Little is the Superinten dent of Elections for the Board of Elections and Registration for Whitfield County, Georgia, and is charged with the duty of conducting elections in Whitfield County, Georgia. (Compl. ¶ 2(a)(vii).) Plaintiffs have sued Defendant Little in his...