Beaumont NAACP Files Lawsuit
Beaumont NAACP Files Lawsuit
v.
Defendants.
Plaintiffs Beaumont Branch of the NAACP and Jessica Daye, by and through counsel, file
this complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against Defendants Jefferson County; Jefferson
County Commissioners Court; Laurie Leister, Jefferson County Clerk; and Mary Beth Bowling,
presiding judge of the John Paul Davis Community Center, and allege upon information and belief
as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1. All Texas voters have the right to vote free from intimidation. Tex. Elec. Code §
62.0115(b)(2) (“a voter has the right to (2) vote in secret and free from intimidation”). Indeed, this
right is a foundational principle of a democratic society. See, e.g., Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533,
562 (1964) (“[T]he right to exercise the franchise in a free and unimpaired manner is preservative
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2. The John Paul Davis Community Center (the “Community Center”), located at
3580 E. Lucas Drive, Beaumont, TX 77703, is one of the voting locations in Beaumont that serves
a predominantly Black community. It is in the heart of the North End of Beaumont surrounded by
Black churches and other organizations that are strongholds in the community. The Community
Center is a place of gathering for children, churchgoers, and other community members.
location. Many of the local churches, including the Borden Chapel Missionary Baptist Church,
host souls-to-the-polls events and transport voters to the Community Center. About ninety percent
of those who vote at the Community Center are Black, and around 10 percent are White.
4. This year, there has been a remarkable shift in the way voting has been conducted
at the Community Center—namely, (i) White poll workers throughout early voting repeatedly
asked in aggressive tones only Black voters and not White voters to recite, out loud within the
earshot of other voters, poll workers, and poll watchers, their addresses, even when the voter was
already checked in by a poll worker, (ii) White poll workers and White poll watchers followed
Black voters and in some cases their Black voter assistants around the polling place, including
standing two feet behind a Black voter and the assistant, while the voter was at the machine casting
a ballot, and (iii) White poll workers helped White voters scan their voted ballots into voting
machines but did not similarly help Black voters scan their ballots.
5. Despite these actions being relayed to the Jefferson County clerk, no action was
taken to remove Defendant Bowling, who has been responsible for carrying out these practices
Bowling have actively deprived Black voters, including the Plaintiff Daye and the members of
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Plaintiff Beaumont Branch of the NAACP, of their fundamental right to vote free from
intimidation, harassment, threats, and other forms of coercion. Not only that, Defendant Bowling
and election clerks under her direction have intentionally treated Black voters differently than
White voters.
7. This Court must act immediately and declare the aforementioned conduct a
violation of Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. § 10101(b)) and the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibit treating one group
Defendants will continue to inflict irreparable injury on potentially hundreds of Black voters who
PARTIES
subsidiary organization of the Texas NAACP. The Beaumont NAACP works to ensure the
political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred
and racial discrimination in Beaumont, including by removing all barriers of racial discrimination
through democratic processes. The Beaumont NAACP was founded approximately fifty years ago.
It continues to play a critical role in furthering the work of civil rights in Southeast Texas today.
10. Since its founding, the Beaumont NAACP has used litigation, policy advocacy,
community organizing, and public education to ensure the political equality of all Texans. To
achieve its mission, the Texas NAACP engages in voter education, registration, mobilization, and
11. The Beaumont NAACP is based in Beaumont, Texas in Jefferson County. It has
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more than 600 registered members, including a youth group and its college membership. A large
portion of the Beaumont Branch’s members are registered to vote. The Beaumont NAACP’s
12. This election cycle, the Beaumont NAACP has worked tirelessly to register voters
in the Beaumont community. The Beaumont NAACP held several voter registration events,
including a number of “Pews to the Polls” events in conjunction with local churches. The
Beaumont NAACP also released a commercial on the local radio station, 102.5, encouraging
people to get out the vote, and posted reminders and encouragement to vote on its webpage, its
Facebook page, and the like. Many members of the Beaumont NAACP also serve as poll workers,
poll watchers, voter assistants, and campaign workers for different campaigns in Jefferson County.
13. The Beaumont NAACP strongly encourages its members to vote at the John Paul
Davis Community Center and the Theodore Johns Branch Library because these polling places are
in their communities. These polling places have also traditionally been safe, peaceful, and
14. Numerous members of the Beaumont NAACP have been or will be harmed by the
voter intimidation practices at the John Paul Davis Community Center and the Theodore Johns
Branch Library.
County. Plaintiff Daye usually votes at the Community Center. She went to vote there on
November 2. When she was in line to vote, she saw an elderly Black voter who was just a few feet
ahead of her in line check in to vote with a Black poll worker who cleared her by verifying the
voter’s information. The elderly Black voter moved down the table to where a White poll worker
stood and aggressively asked the elderly Black voter to show him her identification again and
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recite her address out loud to him. After witnessing this incident, Daye immediately exited the line
and left the Community Center without voting. Daye did not want to be subjected to the treatment
she had witnessed, so she left. She would like to vote at the Community Center because it is close
to where her mother lives and she takes care of her mother on a daily basis. But Daye plans to try
to vote somewhere else on Election Day because she fears that—among other things—the poll
workers at the Community Center will ask her to recite her address out loud in front of everyone.
16. Defendant JEFFERSON COUNTY is a governmental entity created under the laws
of the State of Texas. It is liable for the acts and omissions of its officials, acting on behalf of the
body of Jefferson County, created under the laws of the State of Texas. Tex. Const. art. V, § 18.
It is liable for the acts and omissions of its officials, acting on behalf of the County, to conduct
elections.
18. Defendant MARY BETH BOWLING is the presiding judge at the John Paul Davis
Community Center appointed by the Republican Party. During early voting in Jefferson County,
which took place from October 24 to November 4, Defendant Bowling was appointed a “deputy
early voting clerk.” Tex. Elec. Code § 83.031. The deputy early voting clerk “has the same
authority as the early voting clerk in conducting early voting, subject to the early voting clerk’s
supervision.” Id. In turn, the early voting clerk generally “has the same duties and authority with
respect to early voting as a presiding election judge has with respect to regular voting.” Id. §
83.001. Thus, during early voting, Defendant Bowling generally exercised the powers of a
presiding judge. Absent relief, Bowling will also be a presiding judge on election day at the
Community Center. As the presiding judge, Defendant Bowling is “in charge of and responsible
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for the management and conduct of the election at the polling place of the election precinct that
the judge serves.” Tex. Elec. Code § 32.071. The presiding judge “designate[s] the working hours
of and assign[s] the duties to be performed by the election clerks serving under the judge.” Id. §
32.031. The presiding judge is also charged with “preserv[ing] order and prevent[ing] breaches of
the peace and violations of th[e] code in the polling place.” Id. § 32.075. Defendant Bowling is
19. Defendant LAURIE LEISTER is the county clerk of Jefferson County. A county
clerk for the general election for state and county officers “may remove, replace, or reassign an
election clerk who causes a disruption in the polling location or willfully disobeys the provisions
of this code” following “an oral warning to the election clerk and with the concurrence of the
county chair of the same political party with which the election clerk is affiliated or aligned.” Tex.
20. This action is brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
21. The Court has subject matter jurisdiction of this action under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, as
this case arises under the laws of the United States, and under 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(4), as this case
seeks equitable and other relief pursuant to an Act of Congress providing for the protection of the
22. This Court has jurisdiction to grant both declaratory and injunctive relief under 28
23. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants who are sued only in their
official capacities as officials serving in the State of Texas. Defendants are appointed officials
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charged with the conduct of elections in Jefferson County, including in the City of Beaumont. The
24. Venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)
because a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred and will
occur in this judicial district. Plaintiffs are located in this judicial district.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
I. Background
25. According to the 2020 Census, Jefferson County has a population of 256,526,
34.4% Black and 58.6% White. The City of Beaumont is located in the northeast corner of the
County. Its population according to the 2020 Census is 114,586, 45% Black and 43.5% White.
The North End of Beaumont, where the Community Center is located, is a neighborhood of several
26. The John Paul Davis Community Center sits in the heart of the North End of
Beaumont, a historically and predominantly Black neighborhood. Because of its central location,
its proximity to the Borden Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, and its communal atmosphere, the
Community Center is a preferred voting location for Black voters in the North End. The voting
population the Community Center typically serves is approximately ninety percent Black and ten
percent White.
27. Countywide elections in Jefferson County are historically very close. While the
county is politically split fairly evenly, votes from Beaumont, including the North End, tend to be
heavily Democratic. For example, in 2018, in the countywide elections for County Judge, County
Clerk, and County Treasurer—positions that will be on the ballot in 2022—the winning candidate
received less than 51 percent of the vote and the losing candidate received more than 49 percent
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of the vote. Citywide elections are often similarly tight in Beaumont. In 2021, for example, the
Beaumont mayor’s race was decided by just over 600 votes out of more than 16,700 cast.
28. This election cycle brought several significant changes to Jefferson County’s voting
setup.
a. First, Jefferson County acquired new voting machines that are being used for the
first time in this election. These new voting machines make voting in Jefferson
County a two-step process: a voter must select the candidates they want to vote for
on a touch-screen voting machine and then collect a printed ballot showing their
selections from that machine; then, the voter must take the print-out of their filled-
out ballot and feed it into a scanning machine in a different area of the polling place.
If the voter does not scan their completed ballot into the machine, their vote does
not count. Since voters are not yet familiar with the County’s new equipment, they
b. Second, this cycle marks the first general election when several new statewide
election policies are in effect, following the passage of an omnibus elections bill in
September 2021 known as “Senate Bill 1” or “SB 1.” SB 1’s provisions changed
nearly every step of the voting process in Texas from voter registration to casting a
mail-in ballot, but it made especially substantial changes to the powers allocated to
election judges and poll watchers. Pursuant to these provisions, poll watchers now
have the right to move freely around a polling place and to be near enough to see
and hear the election activity they’re trying to observe within the polling place.
Moreover, poll watchers may not be denied free movement where election activity
is occurring within a polling place. And election judges are subject to expanded
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criminal offenses if they take action to obstruct the view of a poll watcher or
distance the poll watcher from an activity or procedure within the polling place.
These changes have brought attention to the role of poll watchers, bringing newly
trained poll watchers into polling places and more poll watchers overall.
c. Third, the Jefferson County Commission appointed a new County Clerk, Defendant
longtime County Clerk Carolyn Guidry decided to resign after 16 years in the post,
and her interim successor Theresa Goodness resigned shortly thereafter after 34
years in the County Clerk's office. Leister was appointed to serve as a temporary
Leister was initially delayed after Leister told the Commission that she was
unfamiliar with changes to the election law. Leister is not experienced in election
administration.
29. This year, early voting at the Community Center began on October 24 and ended
on November 4. The Community Center is a single building surrounded by a parking lot and some
grassy areas. The polling place inside the Community Center is set up as follows:
a. The voter enters through the front door and turns right. Three tables are pushed
together to form one check-in table that is set up to the right of the main entrance.
There have been typically six election workers seated at the long check-in table,
including (i) a Republican presiding judge and two poll workers from the presiding
judge’s party, and (ii) an alternate presiding judge and two poll workers from the
serves as the presiding judge. As such, she is responsible for managing the full
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conduct of elections at the Community Center. In the event that the regularly
appointed presiding judge cannot serve, the alternate presiding judge serves as
b. There are two poll books or poll pads at the check-in table. Two election workers
sit with a poll book at the check-in desk during voting hours. Each election worker
checks voters in one at a time. There is typically one Republican election worker
and one Democratic election worker at the table checking voters in. During the
residence has not changed, sign in, and then take their ballot to a voting machine.
c. The voting machines in the Community Center are set up about three to four feet
away from the check-in desk. After being checked in, the voter usually walks away
from the check-in desk to the back of the room to get to the voting machines. There
are four voting pods, each containing a machine. None of the pods have curtains,
d. Once a voter marks their entries using the touch screen on the voting machine, the
machine prints out a marked ballot. The voter then takes the ballot and walks to the
ballot scanner located on the opposite side of the room, to the left of the main
entrance. The voter feeds the ballot into the scanning machine in order to cast his
or her vote. Then the voter exits out the front door.
e. Between two and four poll watchers are typically at this location at any given time,
one to two from each party. During early voting, the poll watchers typically stood
between two and four feet behind the election workers sitting at the check-in desk.
Sometimes the poll watchers sat by the ballot scanner on the opposite side of the
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room. Other times, the poll watchers followed a voter or followed a voter and the
voter’s assistant as they walked over to the voting machines, voted, and then walked
30. The Community Center’s presiding election judge, Defendant Bowling, moved
around the polling place during her shifts. Sometimes Defendant Bowling sat next to the ballot
scanner, but mostly she stood directly behind and above the election workers who were seated
while checking voters in. She hovered over the Black election workers as they checked in voters,
typically just two feet or so behind them. Defendant Bowling was at the polling place nearly every
day of the early voting period. As presiding judge, she is likely to be there from the start of voting
31. Defendant Bowling and most, if not all, of the other Republican-appointed poll
workers are White. The alternate presiding judge at the location is Black and most, if not all, of
32. The atmosphere at the Community Center polling place has been hostile and
intimidating for Plaintiff Daye and other Black voters for the following reasons:
a. Requiring Black Voters to Loudly Recite Their Address In Front of Others After
Voters Already Properly Checked In
33. “Before a voter may be accepted for voting, an election officer shall ask the voter
if the voter’s residence address on the precinct list of registered voters is current and whether the
voter has changed residence within the county.” Tex. Elec. Code § Section 63.0011(a).
34. After determining that the voter is registered, the voter must be asked if the
residence address on the list of registered voters has changed. See Elections Div. of the Office of
the Tex. Sec’y of State, The Qualifying Voters on Election Day 2022 Handbook for Election
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Judges and Clerks, at 22. The address on an acceptable form of photo ID or, if applicable, a
compared to the address on the list of registered voters, as these two addresses do not have to
match. Id.
35. Throughout early voting, Defendant Bowling stood behind the election clerks
responsible for checking voters in. She frequently asked to look at Black voters’ identification,
even though these voters had already been verified and checked in to vote in accordance with the
guidelines above. Defendant Bowling then often asked the Black voters in question to recite, out
loud and within earshot of numerous others within the polling place (including poll workers, other
election workers, and other votes), their addresses. Defendant Bowling did not ask White voters
who had been checked in by an election worker to show her their identification and recite their
addresses.
36. The other election worker who sat at the check-in desk also asked Black voters to
recite, out loud and within earshot of numerous others, their addresses even after these voters had
been properly checked in. Plaintiff Daye witnessed this when a White Republican election worker
asked an elderly Black voter, who had already been checked in by a Black election worker, to take
out her identification again and recite her address out loud. After witnessing this incident, Plaintiff
Daye decided not to vote at the Community Center and left altogether.
37. Defendant Leister was informed and was aware that Defendant Bowling and other
election workers were asking Black voters to recite their addresses out loud. Defendant Leister did
not take action to remove Defendant Bowling. Defendant Leister, as the county election clerk, did
not direct Defendant Bowling to instruct the election workers not to engage in this type of conduct.
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38. On one occasion, Defendant Bowling followed a Black voter and a Black voter
assistant to a voting machine. Defendant Bowling stood two feet away from the voter and the voter
assistant and hovered over their shoulders as if looking to see who he would cast his ballot for.
Only when he was repeatedly told by the voter assistant that she could not watch the voter make
his selections did Ms. Bowling move away from the voter and his assistant.
39. At least two White poll watchers mimicked this behavior, following Black voters
around the Community Center and sometimes standing as close as two to three feet behind voters,
including while voters were at the voting machines marking their ballots.
40. Throughout the early voting period, White voters came and voted at the Community
Center, but at no point were they treated this way. No White voters were followed around the
polling place, hovered over while they made their selections on the voting machine, or crowded as
41. Defendant Leister was informed and was aware that Defendant Bowling and other
election workers were closely following Black voters around the polling place. Defendant Leister
did not take action to remove Defendant Bowling. Defendant Leister did not direct Defendant
Bowling to instruct the election workers not to engage in this type of conduct.
c. Showing White Voters How to Scan Their Voted Ballots But Not Black Voters
42. Most of the time during early voting, at least one election worker under Defendant
Bowling’s supervision or poll watcher from Defendant Bowling’s political party sat or stood next
to the ballot scanner. Many voters needed help with the ballot scanner because it was a new
43. When a White voter needed help scanning a voted ballot into the ballot scanner,
Defendant Bowling, a White election worker, or a White poll watcher routinely helped the White
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voter.
44. When a Black voter needed help scanning a voted ballot into the ballot scanner,
Defendant Bowling, a White election worker, or a White poll watcher rarely provided this type of
assistance. Black voters typically had to receive assistance from one of the Black election workers
if they were around or a voter assistant if the Black voter was eligible to receive assistance and
45. Sometimes Black voters did not receive the help they needed to scan their ballots
in because the other Black election workers were busy checking in and helping other voters.
46. At no point did Defendant Leister take action to stop Defendant Bowling or any of
the other election workers in the polling place for the differential treatment they provided to White
voters and Black voters in assisting with the new ballot scanning machine.
CAUSES OF ACTION
COUNT I
52 U.S.C. 10307(b)
Violation of Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act
Voting Intimidation
47. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if set forth
fully herein.
48. Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act creates a private right of action on behalf of
one who is intimidated, threatened, or coerced while attempting to exercise his or her right to vote.
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U.S.C. § 10307(b).
49. Defendants have engaged in a pattern and practice of intimidating voters at the
Community Center by asking voters to recite their addresses out loud once voters have already
been checked in, by closely following voters and their assistants around the polling place, and by
neglecting to assist Black voters in feeding their ballots into the ballot scanning machine.
50. This conduct will intimidate voters who plan to vote at the Community Center on
Election Day. Unless and until enjoined by this Court, Defendants will continue to violate Section
11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, thereby preventing eligible voters—including Plaintiffs—from
COUNT II
42 U.S.C. § 1983
Violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
Discriminatory Intent
52. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits any state or political subdivision from denying
a person his or her right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. U.S.
53. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits any governmental entity from denying a
person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. When a
governmental entity discriminates based on race, strict scrutiny is triggered, and the entity must
demonstrate both that the challenged practice or policy serves a compelling state interest and that
it is necessary or narrowly tailored to serve that interest. Any governmental action classifying
citizens on the basis of race is by its “very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are
founded upon the doctrine of equality.” Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630, 643 (1993)
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54. The facts clearly demonstrate that Defendant Ms. Bowling and other white election
workers serving at the Community Center treated Black voters, and Black voters only, in a manner
55. These practices do not serve a compelling interest and are not necessary or narrowly
56. Unless and until enjoined by this Court, Defendants will continue to violate operate
the Community Center with racially discriminatory intent, thereby preventing Black voters like
Plaintiffs from receiving equal treatment while trying to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
This will cause Plaintiffs and others similarly situated irreparable harm.
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ensure that Plaintiffs and similarly situated qualified voters may engage in
forward;
VI. Plaintiffs further request that the Court grant such other and further relief
Sadik Huseny*
LATHAM & WATKINS LLP
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Jon Greenbaum*
Ezra D. Rosenberg*
Pooja Chaudhuri*
Sofia Fernandez Gold*
LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR
CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW
1500 K Street, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 662-8600
jgreenbaum@lawyerscommittee.org
erosenberg@lawyerscommittee.org
pchaudhuri@lawyerscommittee.org
sfgold@lawyerscommittee.org
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