Nico Martinez, a partner in the Chicago office of Bartlit Beck LLP, secured a favorable ruling for a group of Black plaintiffs in Rose et al. v. Raffensperger, a Northern District of Georgia case alleging the Public Service Commission’s electoral system violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

In an August 5, 2022, order, U.S. District Court Judge Steven D. Grimberg wrote, “Since 1906, commissioners on the Public Service Commission for the State of Georgia have been elected on a statewide, at-large basis. Today, the court finds that this method of election unlawfully dilutes the votes of Black citizens under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and must change.”

The judge also ruled that the election for two of the commission seats be postponed so that the legislature could create a new system for electing commissioners. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals then put that ruling on hold, which spurred Martinez and his pro bono legal team to secure an emergency order from the U.S. Supreme Court restoring the district court decision. In press reports following the district court win, Martinez said, “This ruling immediately impacts how millions of Georgians will elect those powerful officials who determine how much everyday folks must pay for basic utilities. It is one of the most important decisions to advance voting rights in a generation.”