About:

Natasha M. Korgaonkar joined the staff of LDF in 2011 as Assistant Counsel in the Political Participation Group. Her work at LDF includes litigation under the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, and work related to prison-based gerrymandering.

Natasha has represented African-American voters, and other voters of color, in a number of cases brought under Section 2 and Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, including Texas v. Holder, in which a three-judge federal court blocked Texas’s recent attempt to implement a discriminatory government-issued photo identification measure at the polls. Natasha is also on LDF’s Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder litigation team, working to defend against a constitutional challenge to Section 5 before the United States Supreme Court. Natasha was part of the team that successfully defended Section 5 in the federal district and circuit court litigation in this case.

Natasha is also part of LDF’s efforts to ensure state compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law that requires states to provide voter registration services to low-income constituents at public assistance agencies. Natasha is counsel in Scott v. Schedler, challenging Louisiana’s failure to offer the opportunity to register to vote to its most vulnerable residents, as required by the NVRA. The case is currently before the 5th Circuit, after a successful trial in the district court. Natasha has previously worked at the Corporation for Civil Action and Education in San Juan, an organization that provides direct legal services to prisoners throughout Puerto Rico, and monitors prison conditions. Immediately prior to joining LDF, Natasha worked as an associate at Covington & Burling LLP.

Natasha graduated from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, and Chapter Editor of A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, published by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. She graduated from Brown University with an A.B., with honors, in African-American Studies and History, and holds an M.A. in African-American Studies from Columbia University.