BREAKING: Judge OKs new congressional map in win for GOP
Legislative maps also upheld
A federal district court will allow Georgia’s newly passed congressional map to remain in place. It’s a huge win for Republicans, who are all but certain to maintain their hold on nine of the Peach State’s 14 congressional seats.
New maps for both chambers of the state legislature were also upheld.
Thursday’s order by U.S. District Judge Steve Jones brings to an end a years-long legal battle over African-American representation in a key battleground state ahead of the 2024 election.
The new maps were passed during a November special session after the Obama-appointed Jones tossed the current boundaries for violating the Voting Rights Act, siding with plaintiffs who said that Black Georgians deserve more representation because they have overwhelmingly contributed to the state’s population growth.
Jones ordered lawmakers to draw an additional majority-Black congressional district on Atlanta’s west side.
The new map, which was upheld Thursday, creates a new majority-Black 6th District that covers south Cobb, south Fulton and parts of Douglas County. But the civil rights groups who successfully sued to block the previous map said that the remedial plan is just as unlawful because it dismantled District 7, a minority coalition district held by Rep. Lucy McBath, a Black Democrat.
The boundaries maintain the current breakdown of nine Republicans and 5 Democrats. Attorneys for the state were upfront in saying that partisan politics played a role during the process. Partisan gerrymandering remains legal, while racial gerrymandering is not.
Jones said state lawmakers followed his instructions. "The court finds that the general assembly fully complied with this court's order requiring the creation of Black-majority districts in the regions of the state where vote dilution was found," he said Thursday. “the elimination of 2021 CD 7 does not violate Section 2 [of the Voting Rights Act].”
As for Rep. McBath, the three-term congresswoman will have to campaign for re-election on largely unfamiliar turf for the second cycle in a row. This comes just two years after the district where she first won office was overhauled to become a solidly Republican seat, forcing her to switch districts and challenge a Democratic colleague.