Case Study #1: Fair Fight Action v. Raffensperger

Issue Summary:

In the aftermath of the 2018 election, Plaintiffs alleged that a variety of election processes in Georgia were discriminatory, including locations of polling places, voter-list maintenance, database-matching processes for new voters, and a variety of methods the Secretary of State used to train county election officials. We represented the Defendants, including the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger. The case was assigned to Northern District of Georgia Judge Steve Jones, an appointee of President Obama.

The case proceeded through nearly two years of discovery, with millions of pages of documents, more than 3,000 voter declarations, hundreds of depositions, and more than a dozen expert witnesses. After moving for summary judgment in early 2021, Judge Jones dismissed most of the case with three claims remaining. The rest of the case proceeded to trial.

Issue Outcome:  Of the 25 fact witnesses, none was unable to vote in 2020, only five did not vote in 2018, and only two did not vote in 2016. All but one of those witnesses made personal choices not to vote. In his 288-page order, Judge Jones found for our clients on all remaining counts. According to news reports, the Plaintiffs spent more than $25 million on the lawsuit. Plaintiffs did not appeal, making the district court order the final order. As a final accolade, the decision made the list of Law360’s Biggest Georgia Rulings of 2022.

The trial began on April 11, 2022, and concluded on June 23, 2022.