Judge Elizabeth Branch
Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Elizabeth Lee “Lisa” Branch was born in March 1968 in Atlanta Georgia. She earned her undergraduate degree from Davidson College and received her Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law. She served two years as a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
She worked three years in the administration of President George W. Bush, as the Counselor to the Administrator of the Office of Discrimination and Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and as the Associate General Counsel for Rules and Legislation at the Department of Homeland Security. She engaged in the private practice of law in Atlanta.
Branch served as a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. President Trump nominated Branch to serve as the U.S. Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. At the expiration of a congressional year, her nomination was returned to the president, and he announced his intent to re-nominate her to a federal judgeship. Her nomination was reported out of committee by a 19-2 vote. The Senate invoked cloture, and her nomination was confirmed by a vote of 73-23. She received her commission in March 2018.
In the News…
There is no discrimination on the basis of race in an Alabama law that requires voters to present photo ID at the polls, thus the law does not violate the Voting Rights Act, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision.
The state has legitimate interests in combating voter fraud, increasing confidence in elections, and modernizing the voting process, and those interests survive strict scrutiny, Judge Elizabeth L. Branch said for the Court.
The Court acknowledged the state has a “racist history” and took the time to clearly state that it “does not condone, under any circumstances, racist statements.”
“But,” the Court said, “it cannot be that Alabama’s history bans its legislature from ever enacting otherwise constitutional laws about voting.”
There are a number of ID options available to Alabama voters to identify themselves at polling places, according to the Court’s opinion. In addition, free photo IDs are available from every registrar’s office in the state, and mobile units will even make house calls if requested, Judge Branch said.
“When we weigh the burden on a voter to obtain and present a photo ID against Alabama’s interests underlying the voter ID law, we find the law to be a neutral, nondiscriminatory regulation of voting procedure,” the Court said.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Branch today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Elizabeth Branch
Eleventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Elizabeth P. Tuttle Courthouse
56 Forsyth Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30303
