USCA11 Case: 20-14540 Date Filed: 06/08/2022 Page: 1 of 50 [PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 20-14540 ____________________ GEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ELECTED OFFICIALS, INC., as an organization, GEORGIA COALITION FOR THE PEOPLE'S AGENDA, INC., as an organization, ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE - ATLANTA, INC., as an organization, NEW GEORGIA PROJECT, as an organization, COMMON CAUSE, as an organization, USCA11 Case: 20-14540 Date Filed: 06/08/2022 Page: 2 of 50 2 Opinion of the Court 20-14540 ALBERT MENDEZ, LIMARY RUIZ TORRES, Plaintiffs-Appellants, versus GWINNETT COUNTY BOARD OF REGISTRATION AND ELECTIONS, JOHN MANGANO, STEPHEN DAY, BEN SATTERFIELD, BEAUTY BALDWIN, ALICE O'LENICK, BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, in his official capacity as the Secretary of State of Georgia, Defendants-Appellees. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:20-cv-01587-WMR ____________________ USCA11 Case: 20-14540 Date Filed: 06/08/2022 Page: 3 of 50 20-14540 Opinion of the Court 3 Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, LAGOA, Circuit Judge, and SCHLESINGER,* District Judge. LAGOA, Circuit Judge: Plaintiffs—five organizations and two individual voters from Gwinnett County, Georgia—allege that absentee ballot appli- cations and voting-related information should have been, but were not, provided in both English and Spanish to voters in Gwinnett County during the 2020 election cycle. This appeal asks us to de- termine whether Defendants—the Gwinnett County Board of Reg- istrations and Elections, the Board’s individual members, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—violated § 203 and § 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. § 10503, re- quires certain States and their political subdivisions to provide vot- ing materials in languages in addition to English. Gwinnett County is subject to the requirements of § 203, and Plaintiffs seek relief un- der that section for all limited-English proficient, Spanish-speaking voters in Gwinnett County. Section 4(e), 52 U.S.C. § 10303(e), pro- hibits States from denying individuals who were educated in “American-flag schools” in a language other than English the right to vote because of an inability to understand English. Plaintiffs seek relief under § 4(e) for all limited-English proficient, Spanish- *Honorable Harvey Schlesinger, United States Senior District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, sitting by designation. USCA11 Case: 20-14540 Date Filed: 06/08/2022 Page: 4 of 50 4 Opinion of the Court 20-14540 speaking voters in Gwinnett County who were educated in Puerto Rico. The district court dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims for lack of ju- risdiction and for failure to state a claim, and this appeal ensued. After careful review and with the benefit of oral argument, we va- cate the district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, and we af- firm its dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Allegations The individual Plaintiffs are United States citizens registered to vote in Gwinnett County. Plaintiff Albert Mendez is a profes- sional bass fisherman. He was born in New York City and raised in Puerto Rico, where he …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals