HAPPENING TODAY: Georgia's political maps head to trial
Hearing could determine who is in charge on Capitol Hill
Georgia Republicans on Tuesday are set to defend their recent redistricting maps in federal court as civil rights groups claim that the new boundaries are discriminatory towards voters of color.
It’s part of a larger battle playing out in courts across the country to redraw voting districts mid-decade, all with control of Congress on the line.
Redistricting is a process that state lawmakers across the country must undertake at the dawn of every decade to draw new districts for congressional, state and many local offices. Oftentimes, however, the process is rife with partisanship — the party with the majority is likely to approve maps that benefit their candidates and put political (and sometimes racial) minorities at a disadvantage, a tactic historically referred to as “gerrymandering.”
And that’s exactly what plaintiffs are alleging in Georgia’s redistricting dispute. They say that the maps passed by Republicans in 2021 do not allow Black voters an equal opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice.
Prior to the 2021 redistricting session, Georgia Republicans held 8 of the state’s 14 U.S. House seats while Democrats controlled 6. Republicans drew the current map to reverse those Democratic gains, extending Georgia’s congressional delegation to 9 Republicans and 5 Democrats in a state that regularly hosts competitive statewide elections.
The state legislative maps, which were also drawn to cement Republican majorities, will be argued Tuesday as well. Lawyers for the plaintiffs are arguing that Black voters make up a majority of the state’s population growth and that it is possible to draw more districts where African-Americans make up voting-age majorities.
State Republicans see things differently. They are defending the maps by arguing that their redistricting plans were drawn to maximize GOP representation, which courts have previously ruled to be legal. They also say that race is an outdated factor to use when determining voting patterns.
Now a federal judge will decide.
The case had been put on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a similar case out of Alabama. District Court Judge Steve Jones allowed the maps to be used in the 2022 elections while the high court heard the Alabama case. But Jones, who was nominated to the bench by then-President Barack Obama in 2011, warned that the maps might run afoul of the law and that he could revisit the case pending the outcome in neighboring Alabama.
Sure enough, Judge Jones was right. The Supreme Court ruled over the summer that Alabama lawmakers illegally discriminated against Black voters when crafting new voting maps. They also allowed a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to remain in place for the time being.
Shortly after the ruling, Judge Jones set a September 5 trial date for Georgia’s redistricting maps. It will be a blockbuster hearing that could determine the balance of power in the state legislature, not to mention control of Congress.
Other southern states could see their maps redrawn ahead of next year’s elections. Over the weekend a judge in Florida found that the congressional map championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, which eliminated a Black-performing district in North Florida, is unconstitutional. The DeSantis administration is expected to appeal the ruling.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a South Carolina redistricting case this fall. And North Carolina Republicans are set to draw a new congressional map in the coming weeks after getting the green light from conservative state courts.
With Republicans clinging to a five-seat majority in the U.S. House, these unusual mid-decade redistricting shenanigans could determine which party is in charge on Capitol Hill.
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