Voting for two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission will be halted for the time being after the US Supreme Court refused to reintroduce an electoral system that a court case ruled illegally diluted black voting power.
Judges on Friday overturned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which had issued a stay of postponing the November election for those races on the grounds that the general method violated the Voting Rights Act.
In its ruling on the appeal of a group of black voters, the Supreme Court said the Eleventh Circuit erred in overturning the injunction issued Aug. 5 by US District Judge Steven D. Grimberg of the Northern District of Georgia .
The district court said the district court’s lawsuit came too close to the election. But the judges said the “appeal was based on traditional residency factors and a likelihood of success on the merits, but the Eleventh Circuit did not analyze the application under that framework.”
The Court of Appeals may reconsider the matter under the proper framework, the judges said. The Eleventh Circuit responded quickly by asking for a briefing on whether to rule for the state again. Briefs are due August 23.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which contained no dissenting opinions, was a setback for Georgia’s Foreign Minister Brad Raffensperger. He appealed the injunction to hold the elections as planned.
Raffesnperger’s office did not respond to a request for comment. But a lawyer representing voters who have appealed to the Supreme Court, Nicolas Martinez, called Friday’s order “an important step” in ensuring that the way the election is held is changed.
Unless lifted, Grimberg said the injunction would remain in effect until Georgia’s General Assembly, which meets in January, enacts a procedure to elect supply commissioners that conforms to the Voting Rights Act.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by black voters in Georgia’s PSC District 3, which includes counties in the Atlanta area. These counties have a population that is nearly 49% black—compared to the national black population rate of 33%.
The Public Service Commission regulates telecommunications, electricity, and natural gas services. Elections for commissioners have been held nationwide since 1906.
– With support from Jacklyn Wille
The case is Rose v. Raffensperger, US, No. 22A136.
