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COBB COUNTY, Ga. 鈥� Today, the 澳彩开奖 (澳彩开奖), (SCSJ), (Lawyers鈥� Committee) and (SRZ), filed a in the lawsuit challenging Cobb County鈥檚 racially gerrymandered school board map. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of individual voters, ., , and .

The lawsuit, filed June 9, 2022, alleges that the Cobb County Board of Education and Georgia legislators used racial demographic information to 鈥減ack鈥� 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 鈥減acking鈥� 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.

鈥淲e strongly believe that equality for voters of color is a non-partisan issue. Black and Latinx voices should be heard at the ballot when electing their school board members,鈥� says Poy Winichakul, 澳彩开奖鈥檚 senior staff attorney for voting rights. 鈥淭his is a crucial step towards ensuring the boundaries are redrawn with fairness and equal representation.鈥�

鈥淭oday, we filed a motion asking the court to reject the racially gerrymandered maps passed in 2022 because they unfairly dilute the voices of Black and Latinx voters and do not fairly represent Cobb County students, parents, or voters,鈥� says Caitlin May, voting rights attorney at the ACLU of Georgia. 鈥淩acial gerrymandering is unacceptable at the national, state, and local level, and these Cobb County School Board maps passed in an irregular legislative process are a disservice to the Cobb community and especially to students of color. We look forward to proving our case in court in time for the important 2024 elections, and will continue to work towards fair maps at every level across the State of Georgia.鈥�

鈥淏lack and Latinx voters in Cobb County have a legal right to maps that reflect their political power, and that is why our clients filed this motion today鈥� says Sofia Fernandez Gold, Associate Counsel at the Lawyers鈥� Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. 鈥淲e look forward to proving our case in court so that voters will have constitutional maps in place when they go to the polls to elect their school board members next year.鈥�

鈥淎fter examining tens of thousands of documents and rounds of deposition testimony, the factual record in this case is clear: the Cobb County School Board map is a racial gerrymander, designed to unlawfully limit the influence of Black and Latinx voters in the county,鈥� says Chris Shenton, a lawyer at Southern Coalition for Social Justice. 鈥淚n response to that voluminous discovery, our clients filed this motion and asked the court to ensure that the next elections in Cobb County take place on fair, legal maps.鈥�

鈥淭he people of Cobb County deserve an electoral map that accurately reflects their community鈥攆ree from racial gerrymandering,鈥� said Doug Koff with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to support this committed team of civil rights advocates and leverage our extensive experience with litigation in order to protect the voices of Black and Latinx voters of Cobb County.鈥澛�

In the motion, the plaintiffs request that the court stop the use of the current map before the next school board election, to be held on May 21, 2024.

For more information about Finn v. Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, visit the FAQ page here.听