HAPPENING TODAY: Georgia political maps head back to court
Judge expected to quickly rule on new maps
The legality of Georgia’s political maps on Wednesday will once again be argued in an Atlanta federal courtroom, as a judge prepares to decide whether newly passed sets of redistricting plans comply with an October court order. It’s another chapter in a years-long legal battle that could reshape the balance of power in Washington and at the state capitol.
State lawmakers met during a brief special session last month to redraw congressional and legislative district lines after U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled that the 2021 maps violate the landmark Voting Rights Act for failing to provide Black Georgians with fair representation.
Judge Jones’ October order called for the creation of an additional majority-Black congressional district and around half a dozen new majority-Black state legislative districts. The Republican majority passed maps that created these new districts while insulating their party’s lopsided congressional and statehouse majorities in a state known for hosting blockbuster presidential and statewide elections.
The plaintiffs in the case, which included civil rights organizations like the Georgia NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., do not dispute that more Black districts were created on the new maps. But they are expected to highlight one key part of Judge Jones’ order at Wednesday’s hearing.
When Jones ordered lawmakers to draw more majority-Black districts, he warned them against doing so by drastically reconfiguring any existing districts with large minority populations.
The new congressional map creates a new majority-Black 6th district on the western outskirts of Atlanta. But Republican mapmakers divvied up the current 7th district, where Black, Hispanic and Asian voters in suburban Gwinnett County had been combined to form a minority coalition.
But attorneys for the state will argue that federal law only protects districts where a single racial community forms a majority, and that “coalition districts” like the current District 7 do not qualify for those protections.
The 11th Circuit, Georgia’s federal appeals court, has previously ruled that coalition districts fall under the VRA’s umbrella. But that question has never been answered by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is where this case could ultimately land.
Gold Domers also approved new maps for both of their chambers last month. The new senate map adds two new majority-Black districts by dismantling a pair of predominately white ones in the Atlanta area that are held by Democrats. All 56 incumbents remain largely secure.
In the House, five new majority-Black districts were created, but incumbents were not nearly as lucky. Eight House lawmakers now find themselves sharing a district with a colleague, which will force half of them out of office in next year’s primary if the map is upheld.
Judge Jones is expected to rule quickly on the new maps. If he rejects them, he is likely to bring in a special master to draw up a new set of maps for the state to use in 2024. But any decision he makes will likely be appealed.
Time is ticking. State election officials say that maps need to be finalized by the end of January so that counties can start preparing for the election.