A federal judge on Thursday said Georgia’s congressional and state legislative maps need to be redrawn for the 2024 presidential election, ruling that they violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Georgia lawmakers have until Dec. 8 to draw new lines.
“The Court reiterates that Georgia has made great strides since 1965 towards equality in voting,” U.S. District Judge Steve Jones wrote in the ruling. “However, the evidence before this Court shows that Georgia has not reached the point where the political process has equal openness and equal opportunity for everyone.”
The Georgia General Assembly approved the maps in 2021 and a group of civil rights and religious organizations challenging the districts argued there was room to draw another Black-majority congressional seat on the west side of metro Atlanta, as well as three more majority-Black state Senate districts and five additional majority-Black state house districts in various parts of the state. They pointed to Georgia’s addition of a half million Black residents from 2010 to 2020, nearly half of all population growth.
The state, though, argued that the plaintiffs hadn’t proved voters acted the way they did because of race, arguing partisanship was a stronger motivator.
Republicans held an 8-6 majority in Georgia’s U.S. House delegation in 2020, but majority-GOP state lawmakers redrew lines to eliminate one of those Democratic seats, boosting their majority to 9-5. The balance could revert to 8-6 Republicans following the decision.
The GOP currently holds a 102-78 majority in the state House and a 33-23 majority in the state Senate. While a plaintiff’s victory is unlikely to flip control in either chamber, additional Black-majority districts in the Senate and House could elect Democrats who would narrow Republican margins.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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