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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ' OG f ' 1
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORID!), . .'
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION '
. .
.- - ' .. .
PASTOR REGINALD L. GUNDY, FLORIDA
SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE STATE UNIT, INC., CASE NO. I-:r.:
ELDER LEE HARRIS, BISHOP LORENZO HALL, ;J F) LN
PASTOR HERB ANDERSON, REV. AARON
FLAGG, HAZEL GILLI S, GEORGE GILLIS,
LOUVENIA TII'I'INS, GLORIA SIMMONS,
BONNIE BROWN, DELIA COVINGTON,
ELAINE JACKSON AND LAVONNE MITCHELL,
Plainti ffs,
v.
CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, and .IERRY
HOLLAND, in his official capacity
as Supervisor of Elections for Duvul County, Florida,
Defendant s.
/
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
COME NOW the Plaintiffs. PASTOR REGINALD L. GUNDY, FLORIDA
SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE STATE UNIT, INC., a
civil ri ghts/civic organi zation, ELDER LEE HARRIS. IlISHOP LORENZO HALL,
PASTOR HERB ANDERSON, REV. AARON FLAGG , HAZEL GILLI S,
GEORGE GILLIS, LOUVENIA TIPPINS, GLORIA SIMMONS, BONNIE
BROWN, DELIA COVINGTON, ELAINE JACKSON and LA VONNE
MITCHELL, individuals, by and through thei r undersigncd counsel , and by way of thi s
Complaint seek declaratory and injuncti ve relief against Defcndants, CITY OF
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, a Florida municipal corporation organized under the
laws of the State of Florida, and JERRY HOLLAND, in his official capacity as
Supervisor of Elections, Duval County, Florida (at times herein referred to as
"Defendants"), as follows:
PARTIES
1. Plaintiff Florida Southern Christian Leadership Conference Chapter
("SCLC Jacksonville") is a Jacksonville, Florida based civil rights organization and a
branch of the state and national Southern Christian Leadership Conference. One of the
primary purposes of SCLC Jacksonville is to empower African American citizens in civic
and democratic endeavors, and to assist members of the African American community in,
among other things, voting rights issues. To achieve its goals, SCLC Jacksonville
facilitates voter education and voter mobilization efforts. The unlawful practices as set
forth in this Complaint have frustrated SCLC Jacksonville's mission and SCLC
Jacksonville is required to expend resources to educate its members about the unlawful
practices as related to the change in the early voting location away from the Gateway
Shopping Center, Duval County Supervisor of Elections Branch Office, in order to
combat such acts, at the expense of its regularly conducted programs and activities.
SCLC Jacksonville also has individual members who are affected by the change in the
early voting location away from the Gateway Shopping Center, Duval County Supervisor
of Elections Branch Office.
2. Plaintiffs Pastor Reginald Gundy, Bishop Lorenzo Hall, Elder Lee Harris,
Pastor Herb Anderson, Rev. Aaron Flagg, Hazel Gillis, George Gillis, Louvenia Tippins,
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Gloria Simmons, Bonnie Brown, Delia Covington, Elaine Jackson and Lavonne Mitchell
are individuals, citizens of the State of Florida residing in the City of Jacksonville, Duval
County, Florida, and are legally registered and duly qualified to vote in local, state and
national elections in Florida. The individual Plaintiffs have their rights burdened and
infringed by the change in the early voting location away from the Gateway Shopping
Center, Duval County Supervisor of Elections Branch Office. The individual Plaintiffs
have in-person early voted in said office. Due to work schedules, ability to travel to the
polls and other reasons, the individual Plaintiffs are impeded or prevented from
consistently voting on Election Day and benefit from the early voting at the Gateway
SOE Branch Office.
3. Defendant City of Jacksonville, Florida, is a Florida municipal corporation
organized under the laws of the State of Florida and has governmental power to conduct
municipal government, perform municipal functions and render municipal services.
4. Defendant Jerry Holland is the Supervisor of Elections for Duval County,
Florida, and is being sued in his official capacity (referred to at times herein as "SOE").
The Supervisor of Elections is the chief elections officer in Duval County, Florida and is
responsible for administration of state laws affecting voting in Duval County, Florida.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
5. This Court has jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U .S.C. 1331, 28
U.S.C. 1343 and 42 U.S.C. 1973. Furthermore, this Court has jurisdiction to grant
both declaratory and injunctive relief under 28 U.S.C. 2201 and 2102.
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6. Venue in this district and division are proper pursuant to 28 U.S.c.
1391 (b) and (c), as a substantial part of the acts complained of herein occurred in the City
of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
7. The City of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida has one of the highest
percentages of African American citizens of any similar jurisdiction in the State of
Florida. Duval County currently has a population of over 850,000 people and
approximately 30 percent of the population is African American.
8. The presidential general election held in November 2000 resulted in
approximately 27,000 votes that were not counted in Duval County. A Duval County
Election Refonn Task Force in 2001 concluded in its final report that: "The cumulative
effect of these failures [failures of votes that did not count and voters turned away from
the polls] fell disproportionately upon our African-American population, leading to a
concentrated loss of confidence in the system within this important segment of our
community." Duval County, Election Reform Task Force, "Final Report" (June 12,
2001) at p. 6 (emphasis added).
9. During the 2004 presidential election, The New York Times newspaper
reported the following:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 18 [2004]-Presidential voting in Florida began two
weeks early on Monday, in an effort to avoid many of the problems that plagued
Election Day 2000.
But like persistent ghosts, some of those problems immediately resurfaced:
longlines, trouble verifying voter registration data and a sense among black voters
that they were being unfairly treated.
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Here in Duval County, the state's most populous, where suspicion still simmers
after 27,000 votes were thrown out in 2000, mostly in black neighborhoods, the
beleaguered elections supervisor abruptly resigned, citing health problems. The
elections office here has been under fire for opening only one early-voting site.
In Florida, Early Voting Means an Early Return to Problems, N. Y. TIMES, (October 19,
2004 (www.nytimes.com).
10. Earlier in 2004, Fla. Stat. 101.657(1)(b)(2004) was enacted and provided
for early voting for the first time, as follows:
Early voting shall begin on the 15
th
day before an election and end on the day
before an election. For purposes of a special election held pursuant to s.
100.101, early voting shall begin on the 8
th
day before an election and end on the
day before an election. Early voting shall be provided for a least 8 hours per
weekday during the applicable periods. Early voting shall also be provided for 8
hours in the aggregate for each weekend during the applicable periods.
101.657(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (2004)(emphasis added); Chapter 2004-252, 15, at 14, Laws
of Fla.
11. Since at least 2002, the African American voter population in Duval
County, and elsewhere in Florida, has grown in its reliance on early voting. In Duval
County and other counties, after Sunday church services, many congregants traveled to
the polls to vote on the Sunday immediately preceding Election Day. In May 2011,
African American early voters cast the largest number of votes on the Sunday before
Election Day. See Affidavit of Professor Daniel A. Smith dated July 26,2012 ("Dr. Smith
Aff. 1 "), attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference.
12. According to data from the State of Florida and Supervisors of Elections,
African American voters for the 2008 and 2010 elections have disproportionately relied
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on early voting in casting their ballots. African American voters ended up casting 22
percent of the total early in-person votes in the 2008 General Election even though they
comprised approximately 13 percent of the state's total registered electorate. In addition,
more African American voters voted early in 2008 (all 14 days) than voted (combined)
on Election Day or with an absentee ballot in the 2008 general election. Accordingly,
there is a strong reliance upon early voting by African Americans and other minority
voters for full and meaningful participation in the political process.
13. Professor Daniel Smith analyzed early voting for the May 2011 mayoral
election in Duval County and found additional evidence that African American voters
continue to rely on early voting:
[A]n examination of the 2011 Jacksonville mayoral contest reveals that African
Americans rely heavily on early voting, particularly the final Sunday of early
voting, even in low-turnout, municipal elections ... Of the approximately 38,000
registered voters in Duval County who voted early over the two-week early voting
period prior to the May 17,2011 mayoral runoff, African Americans cast roughly
34% of the early votes, even though they comprised less than 30% of the
electorate. What is most notable, though, is the huge spike in early votes by
African Americans on the final day of early voting, Sunday, May 15,2011.
In fact, on that final Sunday of early voting, even though they comprise a
minority of registered voters in Duval County, more African Americans
came to the polls to vote in the runoff election than did whites.
Exhibit A at 18 (emphasis added).
14. Based upon Dr. Smith's research, he has determined that roughly 28% of
registered voters in Duval County are African American. Some 173,000 voters cast
ballots during early voting period in Duval County prior to the November 6,2012
election. Yet approximately 36.5%of the total ballots cast at the 17 early voting cites
located across the county were cast by African American voters. See Affidavit of
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Professor Daniel A. Smith dated 9/8/2013 ("Dr. Smith Aff. 2") at 10, attached hereto as
Exhibit B and incorporated herein by reference.
15. For the general election in November 2012, over 54 percent of the more
than 116,000 African Americans who voted in Duval County cast votes during the eight
days of early voting, which ran from October 27 through November 3,2012. In short,
African Americans in Duval County in the 2012 General Election were
disproportionately more likely to cast ballots during the early voting period, relative to
other racial and ethnic groups. See id.
16. County supervisors of elections, like SOE Holland, administer the
elections in each of Florida's sixty-seven counties. These SOEs are elected constitutional
officers, see 98.0 15( 1), Fla. Stat., and are charged with, among other things, conducting
elections, verifying, entering, and updating voter registration information, transmitting
updated voter histories to the Department of State after an election, training poll workers,
and reporting any instances of voter fraud. See 98.015, 98.0981, 101.001-102.171,
Fla. Stat.
17. According to Dr. Smith's research, with respect to early in-person ballots
cast at the SOE's Branch Office located at Gateway Town Center, 5200-2 Norwood
Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32208 ("Gateway"), prior to the November 2012 General
Election the vast majority of ballots cast were by African Americans. Dr. Smith's
analysis of the Florida Department of State data for Duval County reveals that of the
roughly 11,400 ballots cast over the eight days of early voting at the SOE's Branch Office
at Gateway for the presidential general election in 2012, more than 10,500 were cast by
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African Americans. That is, over 92% of all early votes cast at the Gateway early voting
center were cast by African Americans. Only one of the other 16 early voting centers in
Duval County-Bradham-Brooks Library on Edgewood Avenue West in
Jacksonville, located northwest of the SOE's Branch Office at Gateway-had a higher
concentration of votes cast by African Americans. Id. at ~ 1 1 .
18. In tenns of sheer volume, more African Americans cast ballots during the
early voting period at the SOE's Branch Office at Gateway than at any other early voting
center prior to the November 6, 2012 election. Approximately 2,500 more African
Americans cast ballots at Gateway in the 2012 General Election than did so at Bradham-
Brooks Library. In fact, one out of every six African Americans who voted early in Duval
County during the 2012 General Election cast a ballot at the SOE's Branch Office at
Gateway. Id. at 1 2 .
19. Voting by African Americans at the SOE's Branch Office at Gateway
remained constant across the eight days of early voting in 2012 with more than 1,000
African Americans cast ballots on each ofthe eight days at Gateway, peaking with more
than 1,700 African Americans voting on the final day of early voting, Saturday,
November 3,2012. Id. at 1 3 . No other early voting center processed as many African
Americans on any of the eight days of early voting as Gateway did on the final day of
early voting, i.e., November 3, 2012. Id.
20. In tenns of the geography of those who voted early at Gateway, the more
than 10,500 African Americans who cast early in-person ballots at the SOE's Branch
Office at Gateway in 2012 tended to live nearby. Id. at 1 4 . Well over one-third of
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African Americans casting ballots over the eight day period at the Gateway early voting
center-some 3,900 African American voters-were registered to vote in just 10 of
Duval County's 186 Election Day precincts. ld All but two of these precincts are located
in close proximity to the Gateway early voting center. ld
21. Many African American early voters work long hours during the week, are
more available on the weekend, and are most energized just before Election Day. Such
voters have heavily utilized the SOE Branch Office at Gateway for early voting.
22. In 2006, SOE Holland sought out funds in the approximate amount of$1.3
million from the Jacksonville City Council for costs associated with leased space at
Gateway for a SOE Branch Office. As the work on the office was nearing completion,
SOE Holland was quoted in the press as follows regarding the Gateway SOE Branch
office:
"It allows us to serve the public in a way that we will be able to do a lot more than
we've done in the past. It will all be done in one location," said Supervisor of
Elections Jerry Holland. "And it also offers the public more access (to voting and
the elections office)."
New elections office near completion, Financial News and Daily Record (July 20, 2006).
23. Ordinance 2006-196 was approved by the Jacksonville City Council in
2006, authorizing a lease agreement between the City and Gateway Center Economic
Development Partnership, LTD, to lease real property for the Duval County SOE office
at Gateway. That lease had a five (5) year term commencing on April 1,2006 and
expiring on September 30, 2011. On October 1,2011, the said lease was amended
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extending the tenn to March 31, 2012, with options to renew and extend the tenn on a
month-to-month basis for 54 consecutive monthly renewal tenns.
24. In February 1,2013, the City of Jacksonville requested that the new owner
of Gateway, Terranova Corporation ("Terranova"), submit a lease proposal to continue
the SOE offices occupancy at Gateway. Terranova submitted a letter of intent to the City
of Jacksonville with tenns more favorable than the original lease.
25. In addition to Terranova, other proposals were solicited for new locations
for the SOE Branch Office in 2013.
26. In total, three (3) proposals were collected by the City of Jacksonville for
new SOE space. Of the proposals collected, the City of Jacksonville Public Works
department, Real Estate Division, evaluated and compared the proposals, finally
detennining that the Gateway proposal by Terranova was the most economical and
feasible.
27. Despite the recommendation of Public Works, the Jacksonville City
Council voted to approve Ordinance 2013-179, authorizing the City to move the SOE
Branch Office at Gateway to a new location and voted to deny Ordinance 2013-118,
authorizing the City to execute a lease to maintain the Gateway space at more favorable
economic circumstances. That Ordinance was not signed by the Mayor of the City of
Jacksonville. Nevertheless, the Ordinance 2013-179 became law.
28. The new lease space provided for in Ordinance 2013-179 is a remote
warehouse location that does not have adequate public transportation access, will not
provide for early voting and has a higher lease cost per month than the Gateway location
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under the lease tenns proposed by Terranova. In addition as result of the new lease
space, there will be no early voting access for voters at Gateway or in the immediate
vicinity.
29. All conditions precedent, if any, for this action have been satisfied.
COUNT ONE
(Violation of Voting Rights Act of 1965,
42 U.S.C. 1973)
30. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference herein and reallege the allegations in
Paragraphs 1 through 29 above as though set forth fully herein.
31. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,42 U.S.C. 1973(a) provides:
(a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or
procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a
manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the
United States to vote on account of race or color.
32. In addition, 42 U.S.C. 1973(b) provides that a Section 2 violation is
established if:
Based on the totality of the circumstances, it is shown that the political processes
leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not
equally open to participation by members of the [protected class] in that its
members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate
in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.
33. African American citizens of Duval County, Florida, disproportionately
participate in early voting at the SOE Branch Office at Gateway when compared with
citizens of Duval County who are white.
34. The move of the SOE Branch Office away from Gateway with no
provision for early voting at Gateway or the vicinity of Gateway disproportionately and
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adversely affects African American voters because such voters disproportionately utilize
early voting at Gateway.
35. The ending of early voting at Gateway and other acts of the SOE Branch
Office at Gateway, including the viewing of the canvassing board, access to voter
registration materials and drop-off of registrations as well as absentee ballots, will result
in the denial of the right to vote of the individual Plaintiffs and others on account of race
or color in violation of Section 2 of the VRA, 42 U.S.C. 1973.
36. In addition to the history of denial of the rights of African American
citizens who early vote at Gateway in Duval County to participate in the democratic
process of voting before the modern civil rights era, in November 2000, almost 27,000
votes were not counted in Duval County, which fell disproportionately upon the African
American voters in Duval County. See Duval County, Election Reform Task Force,
"Final Report" (June 12,2001) at p. 6. Early voting has ameliorated in many ways the
problems African American citizens in Duval County and throughout the State of Florida
have experienced with voting. African American voters disproportionately early voted in
at the SOE Branch Office at Gateway. See Smith Aff. 2, Exhibit B. The closing of the
Gateway early voting location and moving the SOE Branch Office to another location
will burden, hinder and infringe upon the right to vote of Plaintiffs and other African
American voters due to such voters' work schedules, ability to travel to the polls, and
other reasons as well as a creating a return to times of greater voter confusion, and an
unnecessarily difficult voting process.
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37. There are elections in Duval County, Florida on August 26, 2014 and
November 4, 2014, which the move of the Gateway SOE Branch Office will affect.
Voters will therefore be precluded from early voting at Gateway or in the vicinity of
Gateway on account of race or color in violation of Section 2 of the VRA, 42 U.S.C.
1973.
38. There is a bona fide, actual, present practical need for a declaration that
the denial of early voting and other acts at the Gateway SOE Branch Office will result in
African American voters being discriminated against on account of race or color in the
denial of their rights as citizens and voters.
39. The individual Plaintiffs and the members of the organizational Plaintiffs
will be irreparably harmed if they are prevented from early voting at Gateway, and shall
have their right to vote affected on account of race or color for which they cannot be
adequately compensated in an action at law for money damages.
40. By reason ofthe foregoing, Defendants have deprived and will continue to
deprive Plaintiffs of their rights to early vote at Gateway on account of race or color
thereby resulting in African American voters being discriminated against on account of
race or color in the denial of their rights as citizens and voters in violation of Section 2 of
the VRA, 42 U.S.C. 1973.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Honorable Court grant
the following relief:
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A. An order declaring that the closing of the Gateway SOE Branch Office and
leaving Gateway without an earl y voting facility violate Section 2 of the Voting Ri ghts
Act of 1965;
B. A temporary. preliminary and/or permanent order enjoini ng the Defendants,
their respective agents, servants, employees. attorneys, successors, and all persons acting
in concert with each or any of them, from implementing or enforcing the move or the
Gateway SOE Branch Office ending early vot ing at Gateway. thereby restoring earl y
voting at Gateway;
C. AHorney fees and costs; and
D. Such other and further relief as thi s COLIrt m 1y d\
14
Re pectfu Iy
1648 Osceola Street
Jacksonvill e, FL 32204
Phone; (904)381-8183
Fax; (904)38 1-8 191
n hcnri c h senrl,V.h sl a \ \'Vers. co m
Trial Counsel for Plaintiffs
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