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Black voters who sued over Georgia’s elections for key utility regulators are appealing their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Elections for the Georgia Public Service Commission have been on hold for years while the lawsuit plays out.
Georgia’s Public Service Commissioners have to live in specific districts, but they’re elected by voters statewide. A group of Black voters in Atlanta argued in their lawsuit that this violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because it dilutes their votes, preventing them from sending the candidate of their choice to the commission.
A federal judge agreed in 2022 and suspended PSC elections until the state legislature could devise a new system. However, in November, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision.
That ruling took issue with the proposed fix of district elections, arguing a federal court can’t overrule the state’s choice to hold at-large elections because it would violate the “principle of federalism.”
“It’s kind of an upside-down view,” said Bryan Sells, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs. “What the 11th Circuit’s ruling says is that Georgia is allowed to discriminate against Black voters.”
The plaintiffs are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court decision, though there’s no guarantee the Supreme Court will take up the case.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office declined to comment on the appeal.
In the meantime, PSC elections have been on hold since 2022.
Elections for two seats, Districts 2 and 3, that were scheduled that November were canceled. Those commissioners, Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson, continue to serve and vote on PSC decisions, including rate increases and Georgia Power’s current request to buy and make more electricity despite not facing voters.
PSC elections are also not on the 2024 ballot. A third commissioner’s term, that of Tricia Pridemore in District 5, will expire at the end of the year.
A bill that passed the Georgia General Assembly before the Supreme Court appeal was filed lays out a schedule for elections to resume, still following the current model of statewide voting. Those elections would begin with Districts 2 and 3 in 2025.
That bill is still awaiting a decision from Gov. Brian Kemp.
