Cobb panel to discuss racial gerrymandering case, voter impact

Several civil rights organizations will host a panel discussion Tuesday to discuss a racial gerrymandering case in Cobb County. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center, League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb County, the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, and the Southern Coalition for Justice have partnered to provide an update on the case Finn v. Cobb BOE and encourage residents to vote.

“We want to make sure that every one of our voters, whether they come from non-traditional backgrounds, underrepresented and underserved communities, we want to ensure that all the people that are in our community have that right to vote, that they have that information,  and they can exercise their right to vote,” said Monica Granderson, president of the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb County.

The event will start at 6 p.m. at the Smyrna Community Center, and virtual attendance will be available. If you would like to attend the event, register at Eventbrite.

Poy Winichakul, a senior attorney at the SPLC, said the event serves to show Cobb County voters what is at stake in their local elections.

“The Cobb County School Board has been mired in controversy over the last several years, whether it’s complaints about Black and Brown families not being heard, issues of racism in schools not being addressed, anti-mask mandates, and other health and safety issues in the Cobb County schools,” she said. “We hope that being armed with information excites people and engages Cobb County voters to get to the ballot box and the polls this year.”

In Finn v. Cobb BOE, the plaintiff argued 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. 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.

“We elect Cobb County board members to speak on behalf of our families, our friends’ families, our children, our grandchildren, and we want them to represent us,” Granderson said. “We want our voices to be heard. We want them to be accountable.”