Up against the clock, judge limits redistricting challenge
Jones says ruling on new maps to come "very quickly"
Facing a tight calendar, the federal judge who has been overseeing Georgia’s redistricting drama is now limiting the overall scope of the case in a setback for the civil rights groups seeking to block the newly passed sets of voting maps from being used in next year’s election.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, an Obama appointee who in October ruled that the Republican-crafted maps enacted in 2021 disenfranchise Black Georgians, indicated Wednesday that he was not interested in hearing the plaintiffs’ central argument against new boundaries that were approved by state lawmakers during a special session last month.
Jones’ October order called on lawmakers to create a new congressional district with a majority-Black voting population in Atlanta’s western suburbs. He also stated that the violations found in the current maps can’t be repaired by dismantling any existing minority opportunity districts.
The new congressional map appeared to do exactly that in creating a new majority-Black district by eliminating a “coalition district” in Gwinnett County where minority communities like Blacks and Asians tend to vote cohesively for their preferred candidates.
Much like the map that Jones threw out, the current breakdown of nine Republicans and five Democrats representing Georgia in Congress would not change on this new map. Plaintiffs chastised Republican mapmakers for playing what they called a “constant game of whack-a-mole” with Black voters.
The state, however, does not believe that minority coalitions are protected by laws like the Voting Rights Act. Only districts where a single racial group makes up a majority are protected, they say. “The only whack-a-mole from the state’s perspective is the shifting themes of the plaintiffs,” said Bryan Tyson, an attorney representing the state.
“Tyson said the Republican-led Legislature was not shy about the fact that political considerations factored into the maps. Political gerrymandering is legal, but racial gerrymandering is not. But with white Georgians more likely to support Republicans and minority Georgians tending to vote for Democrats, combing out which is which can be difficult.”
Though Georgia’s federal appeals court has previously upheld coalition districts, Judge Jones appeared to side with the state’s defense at Wednesday’s hearing, saying that this case has focused only on Black representation and that plaintiffs made no mention of any other racial group at trial. He also appeared hesitant to rule on a second Voting Rights Act violation in a span of just a few months.
“You’re asking the court to resolve in the next 20 days a matter that took 22 months with the other map,” Judge Jones said to the plaintiffs.
Jones, who also heard arguments over new state House and state Senate maps, told both parties to expect a decision from him “very quickly.” But Wednesday’s hearing indicates that the new maps will be used in the 2024 election unless he rejects them and hires a special master to draw new ones. This case could ultimately be decided by higher courts, as any decision Jones makes is likely to be appealed.
Election officials say maps must be finalized by the end of January.