Voketz v. City of Decatur

Plaintiff filed suit to compel the city to implement a referendum to change its form of government, including how the city council was elected. The district court denied defendants' motion for summary judgment based on section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and then subsequently reversed itself and granted summary judgment.The Eleventh Circuit held that the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013), rendered section 5 inapplicable to the city by striking down section 4(b)'s coverage formula that defined the jurisdictions to which section 5 applied. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court's judgment. View "Voketz v. City of Decatur" on Justia Law