S.B. 189 Opens Door to Purge Requests for Voters Who Live in College Dorms, Nursing Homes, Shelters, and Creates New Barriers to Voting for Unhoused People
ATLANTA – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU of Georgia, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit to bar enforcement of provisions in a new Georgia law that would permit baseless mass challenges to large swaths of eligible voters and create new barriers targeting unhoused and housing-insecure voters. The case was brought on behalf of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and their members.
The lawsuit challenges two provisions in Senate Bill 189 (S.B. 189), enacted earlier this year:
1) One provision of the law, which went into effect on July 1, enables private individuals to challenge the eligibility of voters whose address is determined to be “nonresidential,” despite the fact that residing at a “residential” address is not a requirement for eligibility to vote under Georgia or federal law. This means that eligible, registered voters residing in college dormitories, senior and nursing facilities, shelters and transitional housing, and other locations that may show up as “nonresidential” under local zoning law or other regulation, will be subject to challenge and removal from the rolls despite actually residing at that address and being otherwise eligible to vote. There is no basis in state or federal law for challenging a voter’s qualification simply because they reside at a “nonresidential” address.
Georgia provides no requirement that voters be notified when their eligibility has been challenged, which could lead to voter confusion during Election Day.
2) Another provision of the law, set to take effect in January 2025, would require that individuals who are “homeless and without a permanent address” use their county registrar’s office as their mailing address for the receipt of all election mail. This would create new and unnecessary barriers to voting for Georgia’s unhoused and housing-insecure voters–a population estimated to include over 10,000 eligible Georgian voters. Among the segment of the homeless population that is residing in shelter facilities more than 50 percent of the time, 2022 data found 57 percent were Black and 31 percent were adult victims of domestic violence. These voters will no longer be able to receive their essential election mail at the mailing address of their choice–as all other Georgia voters are able to do–meaning that they will be forced to expend time and resources to travel to their county registrar’s office periodically in order to receive essential election mail such as voter cards with their voting location, absentee ballots, notices that their eligibility has been challenged, and other mail that may make the difference as to whether they can successfully cast a ballot that will be counted.
“Ill-conceived laws like Georgia’s S.B. 189 are a bad solution in search of a non-existent problem. This law threatens the integrity of our democratic process by creating unnecessary barriers that will likely disenfranchise eligible voters from historically excluded communities, including students, nursing home residents, and people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The people of Georgia, especially its most vulnerable, deserve better. Instead of attacking its own people, Georgia should be making it easier for eligible people to cast their ballots and have their voices heard.”
“There is simply no justification for Georgia to allow eligible voters to be challenged on the basis that they reside at a ‘nonresidential’ address–a classification which has no relation to their eligibility to vote, said Ryan Snow, counsel with the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Forcing eligible Georgia voters who are unhoused or housing-insecure–among the most vulnerable members of our society–to take additional, unnecessary and burdensome steps in order to receive their official election mail is both unconstitutional and unconscionable. All eligible voters must be allowed to exercise their freedom to vote without being subjected to unnecessary burdens.”
The defendant is Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“Senate Bill 189 is an outrageous attack on the Black vote and the fundamental right to participate in our democracy. This law not only targets our most vulnerable communities but also seeks to silence the voices that demand change,” said Attorney Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP. “We call for accountability: every eligible Georgian must have the opportunity to vote without fear of intimidation or unnecessary barriers. The power of the Black vote is undeniable, and we will not stand by while it is threatened.”
“We recognize the desperate measures being taken to limit access to the ballot during this crucial election season. These efforts to disenfranchise voters are deeply rooted in racism and pose a significant threat to Black communities and other marginalized groups,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel of the NAACP. “Assertions that housing type—whether residential or nonresidential—should affect a voter’s registration are unfounded and discriminatory. We will not tolerate these tactics that undermine our democratic process. Our National office is committed to empowering our local units and working hand-in-hand to ensure that the voices of eligible Georgians are amplified and every vote is counted.”
Helen Butler, executive director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, said, “Georgia Senate Bill 189 (S.B. 189) represents a continuation of ongoing efforts to create unnecessary and unlawful barriers to voting, particularly targeting our most vulnerable communities. Making it easier for anti-voter activists to make baseless challenges to voter registrations—especially based on factors that have nothing to do with their eligibility, like the nature of the voter’s address—only serves to undermine the integrity of our elections by creating a pathway for the removal of eligible voters.”
Cory Isaacson, legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, said, “We are proud to fight for Georgia voters and file suit against Senate Bill 189, a law that makes it easier to improperly challenge the eligibility of voters, targets unhoused Georgians and student voters, and makes it harder for local elections officials to do their important jobs. We are committed to fighting for access to the ballot for all voters in Georgia, and we look forward to defeating these harmful provisions in court.”
“We are committed to ensuring all voters, including housing insecure voters who represent some of the most vulnerable in our communities, are able to cast their vote free of the additional and unconstitutional burdens imposed by laws such as Georgia Senate Bill 189,” said Lindsey Cohan, a partner with Dechert LLP.
Individuals who have any questions about any aspect of voting should call or text the national nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE, or call one of the bilingual national nonpartisan Election Protection hotlines at: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish); 844-YALLA-US (Arabic); 888-API-VOTE (Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese).
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The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. The Lawyers’ Committee implements its mission and objectives by marshaling the pro bono resources of the bar for litigation, public policy, advocacy and other forms of service by lawyers to the cause of civil rights. The Lawyers’ Committee co-leads the national nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline (866) OUR-VOTE.
