Kemp calls special session after judge orders news maps
Lawmakers to return to Gold Dome Nov. 29
Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday urged state lawmakers to prepare for a special legislative session later this fall after a judge ordered the redrawing of Georgia’s voting maps.
Kemp signed a proclamation ordering lawmakers to return to the Gold Dome on November 29.
The announcement came just hours after U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled that the state’s Republican-crafted congressional and state legislative plans were drawn in a discriminatory manner. In a 516-page ruling, Jones ordered lawmakers to draw a new majority-Black congressional district and multiple new majority-Black state legislative districts. The new maps could result in Democratic gains in the 2024 election.
Judge Jones is giving Gov. Kemp and state lawmakers until December 8 to come up with new maps and has warned that he could take matters into his own hands if they fail to act.
It is one of several legal battles that could reshape the battlefield in the fight for control of Congress. Alabama was ordered to draw an additional majority-Black district following a surprise ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. Florida’s highest court will soon hear a case that could lead to a redrawn map there. Redistricting lawsuits are also pending in Louisiana, South Carolina and New York.