Filed Date: June 17, 2021
Case Ongoing
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This case involved allegations that the Georgia Secretary of State improperly denied the plaintiff’s name on the ballot for Georgia House of Representatives in 2020. Plaintiff filed suit against the Georgia Secretary of State and Geogia Director of Election in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in June 2021 seeking to set aside state‑court decisions and order a new election with his name on the ballot. He also raised constitutional challenges to aspects of Georgia’s statutory scheme related to nomination petitions, including the requirement that candidates for non-statewide office submit signatures from 5% of registered voters in the district, the statutory requirement to seek judicial review in five days of the Secretary of State’s decision when a nomination petition is denied, and irregularities with the Secretary of State’s review and state court litigation.
In 2020, Andrew W. Bell (the plaintiff) submitted a nomination petition to the Georgia Secretary of State. He sought to run as an independent candidate for Georgia House of Representatives in District 85, located in Dekalb County, in the 2020 general election. Under Georgia law, to have his name appear on the ballot as an independent candidate he had to submit a nomination petition with 1,255 signatures of registered voters in the district (an amount temporarily reduced from 5% of registered voters in the district to 3.5% of registered votes due to the COVID‑19 pandemic). The plaintiff’s petition was due to the Secretary of State by July 14, 2020, but also due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary of State extended the petition deadline to August 14, 2020.
On August 13, 2020, the plaintiff submitted a nomination petition with 2,200 signatures. Georgia law required the Secretary of State to “expeditiously . . . examine” the petition to determine whether it contained the required number of signatures. The Secretary of State’s office took approximately three weeks to review the signatures. The office’s explanation for the overall delay was that the reviewing attorney had been on vacation. Upon review, the Secretary of State’s office determined that the plaintiff had submitted only 827 valid signatures and thus would not appear on the ballot for the District 85 general election.
Shortly before the close of business on September 4, 2020—one week before ballots were finalized—the Secretary of State’s office informed the plaintiff by email with a letter attached that only 827 signatures were valid, with the remainder rejected for various reasons such as signers living outside the district, duplicate signatures, and invalid voter registrations. However, the letter was dated August 28, 2018 and identified Brian Kemp as the Secretary of State, even though Kemp was no longer the Secretary of State.
On the next business day, September 8, the plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed an emergency petition in Fulton County Superior Court seeking review of the Secretary of State’s decision. The Superior Court held a hearing on September 15, two days after the ballots were finalized, and issued a written order two days later denying relief. The superior court found the plaintiff had not shown that enough rejected signatures were valid. The plaintiff sought appellate review in the Georgia Supreme Court, which dismissed the case as moot in May 2021 because the 2020 election had already taken place.
The plaintiff then filed a writ of mandamus under the All Writs Act in the Northern District of Georgia in June 2021, asking the federal court to set aside the state‑court decisions and order a new election with his name on the ballot. The plaintiff also raised constitutional challenges to aspects of Georgia’s statutory scheme related to nomination petitions. On January 25, 2022, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case.
On December 6, 2022, the U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty of the Northern District of Georgia granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss in full. The court held that the plaintiff's request to overturn the state court orders was barred by the Rooker–Feldman doctrine and that the 2020‑election relief he sought was moot because the election had already occurred despite the capable-of-repetition-yet-evading-review exception. The court rejected his challenge to Georgia’s 5% signature requirement and its related provisions, and likewise upheld the five‑day deadline for seeking mandamus review as a reasonable, non‑severe burden justified by the state’s need for prompt election administration.
On January 3, 2023, the plaintiff appealed. On March 27, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. The plaintiff petitioned for en banc review which was also denied. Thereafter, the United States Supreme Court denied the plaintiff's writ of certiorari. The plaintiff then sought to vacate the Eleventh Circuit’s mandate, which the Eleventh Circuit denied. The United States Supreme Court denied Bell’s second writ of certiorari.
While the case has been dismissed, affirmed, and certiorari denied twice, the plaintiff continues to file documents in the U.S. district court.
Summary Authors
(12/28/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60038509/parties/bell-v-raffensperger/
Bell, Andrew W. (Georgia)
Carr, Christopher Michael
Jr, Lee M. (Georgia)
McGowan, Charlene S (Georgia)
O'Roark, Elizabeth Marie
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60038509/bell-v-raffensperger/
Last updated Dec. 28, 2025, 10:52 a.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA) project
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 17, 2021
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Potential Independent nominee for Georgia House District 85 election that was denied appearing on the November 3, 2020 election ballot due to insufficient verified signatures.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: Yes
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Georgia Secretary of State, State
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651
Other Dockets:
Northern District of Georgia 1:21-cv-02486
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 23-10059
Georgia state trial court SD1D0206
Georgia state appellate court S21A0306
Georgia state supreme court S21A0306
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Amount Defendant Pays: N/A
Issues
Voting: