36 F.4th 1100
11th Cir.2022Background:
- Plaintiffs (five organizations including GALEO and two Spanish‑speaking individual voters in Gwinnett County, GA) sued Secretary Raffensperger and the Gwinnett County Board of Elections under § 203 and § 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act, alleging absentee‑voting and other election materials were provided only in English during 2020.
- Secretary Raffensperger mailed (and operated a statewide portal for) English‑only absentee ballot applications in 2020; Gwinnett County is a § 203 covered political subdivision but Georgia is not a covered State.
- Plaintiffs allege GALEO diverted organizational resources to assist limited‑English proficient Spanish‑speaking voters, and individual plaintiffs alleged confusion over English‑only mailings (later mailed bilingual forms by the county).
- The district court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction (standing/mootness) and alternatively for failure to state a claim; plaintiffs appealed. Senate Bill 202 later changed absentee‑mailing practices (mooting some claims).
- Eleventh Circuit vacated the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction (finding GALEO adequately pleaded diversion‑of‑resources standing) but affirmed dismissal on the merits: § 203 does not require the noncovered State to provide bilingual materials for a covered county, and plaintiffs failed to plead the causation required by § 4(e).
Issues:
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing (organizational diversion of resources) | GALEO diverted staff/time to assist Spanish‑speaking voters because Defendants provided English‑only materials | No concrete, traceable, redressable injury; alleged diversion is too vague | GALEO adequately pleaded concrete diversion of resources at pleading stage; standing exists |
| Mootness (mailings/portal) | Some claims remain live (ongoing English‑only materials on Secretary website, precinct cards, nursing‑home materials) | SB202 and changed practices mooted mailing claims | Mailing claims mooted by SB202, but other alleged ongoing violations are not moot |
| Scope of § 203 (does State have duty because county is covered?) | § 203(c) applies to any State "subject to the prohibition of subsection (b)" — so a State with a covered county must provide bilingual materials for that county | § 203(b) and (c) target the same "covered" entities; Georgia is not covered so Secretary not bound by § 203; county need only translate materials it itself "provides" | § 203(c) applies only to the entities that are themselves "covered" under § 203(b); Georgia (the State) is not subject to § 203, so Secretary has no § 203 obligation to provide bilingual materials for Gwinnett County; county need not translate state materials |
| § 4(e) causation (Puerto Rico‑educated voters) | English‑only press releases, website materials, precinct cards, and nursing‑home supplies effectively condition the right to vote on English ability | § 4(e) prohibits denying the right to vote "because of" inability to understand English; plaintiffs must plead but‑for causation and have not shown denial of voting | Plaintiffs failed to plead that but‑for inability to read English they were or will be denied the right to vote; § 4(e) claims dismissed for failure to state a claim |
Key Cases Cited
- Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) (standing elements: injury‑in‑fact, causation, redressability)
- Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330 (2016) (statutory rights must still show concrete injury)
- Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363 (1982) (organizational diversion of resources can confer standing)
- Jacobson v. Florida Secretary of State, 974 F.3d 1236 (11th Cir. 2020) (discusses diversion‑of‑resources standing at pleading vs. trial)
- Delgado v. Smith, 861 F.2d 1489 (11th Cir. 1988) (discussed but its language on § 203 was dicta)
- Puerto Rican Organization for Political Action v. Kusper, 490 F.2d 575 (7th Cir. 1973) ( § 4(e) remedies can include translations and bilingual assistance)
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (plausibility standard for Rule 12(b)(6) claims)