Georgia legislators met last week to draw new Congressional, House and Senate district boundaries after a federal judge ruled the current maps violated the Voting Rights Act.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled that Republican lawmakers in Georgia intentionally diluted Black voting power.
He wrote a 516-page order that revealed how the lawmakers violated the Voting Rights Act. In turn, Georgia’s Congressional and state legislative districts were to be redrawn before the 2024 election.
But while Republican lawmakers were supposed to draw new maps that reflected the citizens of Georgia, they created a map that may have defied the judge’s order.
Republican lawmakers refused to create a new congressional district with majority Black voters. The new map continues with old ways as nine districts would continue to be majority-white.
With the new plan, majority-Black districts increased by four after lawmakers altered the district represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath. The plan splits McBath’s district and shifts it away from metro Atlanta where more Black voters reside.
Overall, Republicans would maintain a 9-5 majority among House members with the new map.
In December 2021, following President Joe Biden’s victory, Republican lawmakers in Georgia used gerrymandering tactics to dilute Black voting power in the state. Although the Census revealed that Georgia had become more diverse, the voting maps would discriminated against Black voters in the state. Georgia’s Black population grew by 484,000 from 2010-2020.
Republican-controlled Legislature diluted Black voting power in Georgia by choosing to “‘pack’ some Black voters in the Atlanta metropolitan area and ‘crack’ other Black voters in rural-reaching, predominantly white districts.”
ACLU’s Executive Director Andrea Young previously spoke with ADW about the lawsuit and its impact. “The situation in Georgia is actually worse than the situation in Alabama,” Young said. “Alabama’s population had actually been stable. Under the Voting Rights Act, section two, it did require Alabama to provide adequate representation for its African American citizens that it has failed to do so. There’s only one district out of seven in Alabama where African Americans can elect the candidate of their choice. The Supreme Court said there should be at least two and so that is really important precedent for our situation. We had testimony that states Georgia should have probably eight more districts that African Americans could elect the candidate of their choice.”
Once the new map is examined, it could be in violation of the Voting Rights Act. If Judge Jones finds that the new map violates his ruling, he could appoint an outside expert to redraw Georgia’s maps without the General Assembly’s approval.
About Post Author
