‘The timing is now.’ Voting rights advocates fight for fair Cobb school board maps

Parents and families of Cobb County schools have been raising concerns for years about the school district.

Poy Winichakul, senior attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said they heard from several families concerned about their children.

“Over the last several years, we had been connecting with parents and families and students in Cobb County who are raising all kinds of concerns on a range of issues, whether it’s the unfair treatment of Black and Brown students to get special services for disability needs, to health concerns,” she said. “All of this tells me as a voting rights advocate that there might be something further to look into in how Black and Brown communities are being represented in that particular district.”

The SPLC conducted an investigation, and it turned out that Black and Brown communities were unfairly represented in school districts. 

“If there is a mismatch between what certain racial groups are experiencing in their representation and the accountability of their representatives as compared to white voters, that is a sign that something is not right with the democracy and the electoral system in that jurisdiction,” she said.

So, they filed a lawsuit.

What is Finn v. Cobb BOE?

The case, Finn v. Cobb Board of Elections and Registration, was filed in 2022 on behalf of voting rights organizations, such as the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Marietta-Cobb County, and individual parents in Cobb County.

The case alleges that the school board districts were racially gerrymandered to reduce the political power of Black and Brown voters and ensure a white majority school board, which violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“We brought this suit, and it wound its way through the courts up and down the appellate courts over the last several years,” Winichakul said. “We were able to win and were successful at a district level where the federal court said there is a high likelihood that these districts are in fact really racially gerrymandered.”

The case was filed in June 2022 and dismissed in September 2025. The district court ruled that because the state legislature had instituted new district maps in January 2024, the lawsuit was no longer necessary.

“So the map in 2024 in response to our litigation is now the map that is in place. It’s now incumbent upon voters to vote under this new map and really consider all of the issues that led up to this redistricting case,” she said.

What happens now?

Sharon Hill, first vice president of voter services for the LWV of Marietta-Cobb County, said that by blocking the map, voters now have a chance to ensure the people making decisions about their children’s education reflect the community they serve.

“We remain vigilant to ensure future redistricting remains transparent and fair,” she said. “The timing is now. The timing is now.”

Monica Granderson, president of the LWV of Marietta-Cobb County, said that voters need to understand what’s at stake with this election.

“We have to be accountable for everyone that’s in our community. We are a village. They need to be informed and understand what redistricting is really about,” she said. “The decisions of the school board… impacts how we discipline… It affects the curriculum and it affects the funding. It affects any type of equity programs that we have, and then when we have reduced representation, it also can mean less advocacy for our minority students as well.”

To check your voter status, go to mvp.sos.ga.gov, and learn more about voter rights and events at lwv.org.