CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Federal Judicial Center 10/4/2023 1

No Preliminary Injunction for Erroneous VoterRegistration Cancelations in Georgia in 2020 

Black Voters Matter Fund v. Raffensperger 

(Steve C. Jones, N.D. Ga. 1:20-cv-4869) 

A preliminary-injunction motion sought remedies for voterregistration cancelations based on erroneous change-of-address data. On the one hand, the plaintiffs did not give the state’s secretary 

of state adequate notice of the alleged errors before filing suit. On 

the other hand, they had not shown that the errors discriminated 

against any group. 

Subject: Nullifying registrations. Topics: Registration 

procedures; National Voter Registration Act; equal protection; 

intervention; laches. 

A December 2, 2020, federal complaint filed in the Northern District of 

Georgia by three organizations against Georgia’s secretary of state alleged 

improper cancelations of voter registrations based on erroneous change-ofaddress information.1

 “Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to allow those persons whose registrations were wrongfully cancelled to be placed 

on the voter rolls in time to vote in the January 5, [2021] Senate runoff races.”2

 On the day that the complaint was filed, Judge Steve C. Jones set the 

case for a videoconference evidentiary hearing on December 10.3 The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on December 3.4

On Saturday, December 5, a political party filed an intervention motion.5

On Sunday, Judge Jones ordered a response by Tuesday afternoon.6 After 

receiving the response,7 he ordered a reply filed by Wednesday afternoon.8

1. Complaint, Black Voters Matter Fund v. Raffensperger, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. Ga. 

Dec. 2, 2020), D.E. 1; Black Voters Matter Fund v. Raffensperger, 508 F. Supp. 3d 1283, 1289 

(N.D. Ga. 2020); see Amended Complaint, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 

(N.D. Ga. Dec. 8, 2020), D.E. 27 (adding a fourth plaintiff organization); see also David 

Wickert, Groups Sue Georgia Over Voter Purges, Atlanta J.-Const., Dec. 3, 2020, at 9A. 

2. Complaint, supra note 1, at 5. 

3. Order, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 2, 2020), D.E. 4; see 

Order, id. (Dec. 9, 2020), D.E. 41 (allocating one hour for each side); Black Voters Matter 

Fund, 508 F. Supp. 3d at 1288; Minutes, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. 

Ga. Dec. 10, 2020), D.E. 51; Transcript, id. (Dec. 10, 2020, filed Dec. 18, 2020), D.E. 65; see 

also Maya T. Prabhu, Federal Judge Will Rule Soon on Voter Purge, Atlanta J.-Const., Dec. 

11, 2020, at 1B. 

4. Preliminary-Injunction Motion, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. 

Ga. Dec. 3, 2020), D.E. 6; Black Voters Matter Fund, 508 F. Supp. 3d at 1288. 

5. Intervention Motion, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 5, 

2020), D.E. 13. 

6. Order, id. (Dec. 6, 2020), D.E. 18. 

7. Intervention-Motion Response, id. (Dec. 8, 2020), D.E. 30. 

8. Order, id. (Dec. 9, 2020), D.E. 32. 
No Preliminary Injunction for Erroneous Voter-Registration Cancelations in Georgia in 2020 

2 Federal Judicial Center 10/4/2023 

On the day that the reply was filed,9 he granted intervention10 and ordered a 

response to the preliminary-injunction motion by 5:00 p.m. that day.11

He denied immediate relief on December 16.12 The plaintiffs could not 

obtain relief pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act13 because they 

did not give the secretary notice of his alleged violation of the act ninety days 

before filing the complaint.14 Also, as a constitutional matter, “Plaintiffs have 

shown that Georgia’s list maintenance process may not be accurate in identifying voters who have actually moved. But they have not shown, or even alleged, that the process is applied differently to any class of voters.”15 Although the equities did not support a preliminary injunction, Judge Jones’s 

opinion “strongly encourage[d] the Parties to meet and determine the explanation, if any, for the alleged [cancelation] inaccuracies.”16

An April 1, 2021, stipulated dismissal brought the case to a close.17

9. Intervention-Motion Reply, id. (Dec. 9, 2020), D.E. 33. 

10. Opinion, id. (Dec. 9, 2020), D.E. 42; Order, id. (Dec. 9, 2020), D.E. 36. 

11. Order, id. (Dec. 9, 2020), D.E. 37. 

12. Black Voters Matter Fund v. Raffensperger, 508 F. Supp. 3d 1283 (N.D. Ga. 2020); see

Order, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 29, 2020), D.E. 69 (denying emergency reconsideration); see also Maya T. Prabhu, Ga. Needn’t Immediately Restore 

Purged Voters, Atlanta J.-Const., Dec. 17, 2020, at 8B. 

13. Pub. L. No. 103-31, 107 Stat. 77 (1993), as amended, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20501–20511. See 

generally Robert Timothy Reagan, Motor Voter: The National Voter Registration Act (Federal Judicial Center 2014). 

14. Black Voters Matter Fund, 508 F. Supp. 3d at 1292–96; see 52 U.S.C. § 20510(b)(2). 

15. Black Voters Matter Fund, 508 F. Supp. 3d at 1299. 

16. Id. at 1303. 

17. Stipulation, Black Voters Matter Fund, No. 1:20-cv-4869 (N.D. Ga. Apr. 1, 2021), D.E. 

78; see Voting Groups End Legal Challenge to Purges, Atlanta J.-Const., Apr. 11, 2021, at 7A; 

David Wickert, Groups Drop Federal Lawsuit Over Georgia Voter Purges, Atlanta J.-Const., 

Apr. 6, 2021, at 7B.