"For no apparent reason": Dem lawmaker confronts colleagues about changes to her district
"I don't even recognize" my new district, Sen. James says
A longtime Atlanta lawmaker fought back tears Wednesday as she confronted the state Senate redistricting committee about the changes being made to her district.
Democratic state Sen. Donzella James told mapmakers that they are altering the boundaries of the southwest Atlanta district that she has represented off-and-on since the 1990s “for no apparent reason.”
James’ Republican colleagues are debating a new map that redraws and renumbers her district to satisfy a recent court ruling ordering lawmakers to increase the number of majority-Black districts in compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
On the current maps, the Atlanta Democrat represents Senate District 35, which spans South Fulton and parts of Douglas County. Her second and current stint in the state Senate began in 2009.
The Senate map that is on track to pass this week sees James’ district shed many of its South Fulton communities such as Union City and Fairburn in exchange for Mableton and Austell in Cobb County. The district was also renumbered to Senate District 28.
James says she has never represented Cobb County during her combined two decades in the legislature.
“I don’t even recognize the old 35th district from this map,” she testified Wednesday. “It appears to be smoke and mirrors and partisan gamesmanship, and I ask that this map be rejected and a map be adopted that complies with the Voting Rights Act.”
Sen. James said she expected to see some changes to her district but was shocked to see that “even some of the people who live on my street or the next street over are not in the new 28th.”
Republicans say that James’ district was redrawn to comply with a court order from U.S. District Judge Steve Jones calling for two additional majority-Black Senate districts in the Atlanta area. But to avoid sacrificing any of their own seats, the majority party instead increased the Black populations in two predominately white Democratic-held districts.
This new configuration transforms those districts from majority-white to majority-Black and allows them to designate James’ district as a “new” majority-Black district — even though she currently represents one.
Redrawing the lines to gain a political advantage is legal, but lawmakers are not allowed to draw maps that discriminate against Black voters.
Many of the activists and voters who spoke at the hearing were critical of the proposed map, arguing that it does not fully comply with the court order.
Senators were encouraged to redraw 10 districts, all of which were located south of Atlanta. The proposed Senate map alters the boundaries of 15 districts, several of which were not among the 10 highlighted in the court order and are not located in the southern metro Atlanta counties the order specified.
Furthermore, some witnesses pointed out that Senate Districts 16 and 34 were among those 10 highlighted districts, but their boundaries did not change on the proposed map.
Facing a December 8 deadline, lawmakers are moving at breakneck speed to pass these new maps and get them to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk even as they continue to appeal the ruling. A successful appeal would force the state to switch back to its current set of maps.
Both the Senate and House redistricting committees are expected to pass their maps Thursday morning, with full votes in both chambers expected by the end of the week. No congressional maps have been released yet.
It will then be up to Judge Jones to determine whether or not the new maps follow his order and can be used in the 2024 election.