Georgia lawmakers plan to redraw district lines even as a dispute over current maps remains unresolved

Georgia is just days away from the start of another special session, the third this decade, that will focus on redrawing district lines for Congress and the General Assembly.

But unlike the last round of redistricting, in which state lawmakers were tasked with creating additional districts to protect the voting power of Black Georgians, this time the Republican-controlled Legislature may choose to strip voting power from minority voters to gain a partisan advantage.

The push for redistricting comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s April ruling in the case Louisiana v. Callais This weakens a key provision Voting Rights Act of 1965, ruling that plaintiffs must prove there was “intentional racial discrimination” for gerrymandered districts to be overturned.

Georgia’s current districts were drawn during a court-ordered special session in 2023. The state’s previous maps, which were adopted in 2021, were met with a series of lawsuits from Georgia residents and interest groups who argued that the districts illegally diluted the voting power of Black Georgians.

Fall 2023 U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones ordered the legislature redrawing maps to include additional majority Black congressional districts in western metro Atlanta and seven additional majority Black legislative districts — two Senate and three House districts in metro Atlanta and two House districts around Macon.

Eventually the maps were redrawn and came into force for the 2024 election cycle, but both sides have appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the cases are still pending. State challenges original decision to reject 2021 maps, and plaintiffs appeal Jones decision approval decision border lines drawn in 2023 that are still in force today.

However, within weeks of the Supreme Court’s decision, Georgia began its own border changes, following similar moves by neighboring states such as Alabama, Louisiana AND South Carolina. Typically, recent political maps are drawn every ten years based on recent U.S. Census data.

Shortly before the announcement special session about redrawing Georgia’s legislative and congressional districts, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said, “it’s clear that Kalis Requires Georgia to adopt recent electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.”

But Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat and election lawyer, said Kemp’s interpretation “couldn’t be further from the truth.”

According to her, under a previous understanding of the Voting Rights Act, a federal judge ruled that Georgia’s 2021 maps racially discriminate against Black voters.

“Whether this analysis has changed due to the new Supreme Court ruling is an open question,” she added.

Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling, state lawyers submitted the notice arguing that the recent Supreme Court the decision “forces the immediate reversal” of the district court’s earlier judgment.

However, the 11th District Court has not yet made any decision. Last month, a three-judge panel asked both plaintiffs and defendants to do so send briefs explain how the decision affects the legal analysis of their case.

“Kalis “brings a hammer to Plaintiffs’ procedural theory,” the state argued it’s shortsubmitted at the end of May. The prosecutor general’s office did not provide further comment.

The plaintiffs’ response is not expected until June 19, after the special session begins, but ACLU of Georgia attorney Akiva Freidlin, who helps represent the plaintiffs, said the organization will continue to fight to ensure Black Georgians are fairly represented.

“The Supreme Court has now changed the standard for proving a violation of the (Voting Rights Act), but this case is not over,” he said in a statement. “We will continue to press for full representation of all Georgia voters.”

Chris Grant, who chairs Mercer University’s political science department, said one reason the 11th Circuit Court may be hesitant to rule is because it lacks clear standards under Kalis for proving racial discrimination.

“The Supreme Court has not been as clear as I think the lower courts have been in terms of understanding what is and is not the standard of law here,” he said.

The matter is unlikely to be resolved before the end of the special legislative session, and any recent maps proposed by state legislators could face additional lawsuits, he added.

“I suspect that regardless of what the General Assembly comes out with, there will be additional litigation,” he said.