Paul, Weiss Files Amicus Brief in Voting Rights Appeal in Georgia

Paul, Weiss filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Brennan Center for Justice in an Eleventh Circuit appeal in litigation Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The brief argues that there is no requirement for plaintiffs to prove that racially polarized voting is attributable solely to racial animus, and to the exclusion of partisan factors, in order to establish a violation of Section 2.

The appeal in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., et al v. Secretary, State of Georgia, arose from three lawsuits challenging electoral maps the state of Georgia enacted in 2021. The plaintiffs argued that the maps violated Section 2, which forbids the use of policies and procedures that deny or abridge the right to vote “on account of race.” Section 2 further provides that a violation “is established” if plaintiffs demonstrate that, under the totality of the circumstances, “the political process . . . [is] not equally open to participation by members of a class of citizens protected by subsection (a) in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.” The district court found that burden satisfied and held that Georgia’s maps violated Section 2. The state appealed, arguing (among other things) that plaintiffs must demonstrate “racial causation” to prevail under Section 2—i.e., that voting patterns could be caused or explained only by race rather than by other factors, such as partisan preferences.

Our amicus brief argues that the state’s interpretation of Section 2 is contrary to the text and legislative history of Section 2, as well as decades of Supreme Court precedent interpreting Section 2. The text of the statute states that a practice denies or abridges the right to vote “on account of race” if it has the “effect” of reducing the ability of individuals of a racial minority in the jurisdiction to elect their preferred candidates, without any requirement to prove that that effect was “caused” only by race and to the exclusion of any other factors. And the Supreme Court has, for decades, interpreted Section 2 to mean that plaintiffs can plausibly show vote dilution on account of race if, among other things, they show that voting in the jurisdiction is racially polarized and that voters in the racial majority will ordinarily vote together to defeat the minority’s preferred candidate. The Court has never required plaintiffs to show that racially polarized voting is caused by racial animus, as Georgia argues.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partner Paul Brachman, associates Amanda Valerio-Esene, Gretchen Edelman, Michael Dauber and Jackson Willis.