Gist

ATLANTA — U.S. District Judge Steve Jones on Thursday upheld Georgia’s new congressional and legislative maps, much to the consternation of Democrats and civil and voting rights groups who contend the maps still violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Jones’ ruling is a major win for state Republicans who drew the maps and continue to retain political control. Republicans will keep a 9-5 advantage in the congressional delegation — a crucial position, given the 2024 election.

“The judge’s ruling reflects the fact that the Republican leaders and members took him very seriously,” Republican strategist Brian Robinson said. “They did everything they could to follow the letter of the law and his ruling. And that diligence paid off.”

Kevin Olasanoye, executive director of the Democratic Party of Georgia, called the ruling disappointing. “While we respect the court’s ruling, we are more committed than ever to ending Republicans’ days of diluting minority voting power via gerrymandering,” Olasanoye added. “Voter protection and empowerment is at the heart of Georgia Democrats’ mission, and we will fight harder than ever to ensure that every Georgia voter can make their voice heard in our democracy.”

What’s Happening

Jones’ decision comes three weeks after the Republican-led General Assembly redrew the maps during a special legislative session that, at times, devolved into a contentious, political row. In October, Jones ordered the lawmakers to redo the 2021 maps because he said they diluted Black voting power and thus violated the Voting Rights Act.

The judge, an Obama appointee, laid out instructions in a 516-page order on how the maps could be redone, zeroing in on metro Atlanta. The congressional state Senate and state House maps need to better reflect the growing share of Black residents among Georgia’s voting-age population, Jones said, without dismantling other districts that had healthy minority representation.

The congressional map was considered to be the most vulnerable map headed into Jones’ Dec. 20 redistricting review of the new maps. It creates a new majority-Black 6th District while dismantling the 7th District. No single racial or ethnic group is the majority in the 7th District but the coalition of Blacks, Latinx and Asians in the  suburban Atlanta district tend to vote Democrat. The existing 7th District is represented by U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, who is Black. McBath said on Thursday that she plans to run in the newly-formed 6th Congressional District.

“The court finds that the general assembly fully complied with this court’s order requiring the creation of Black-majority districts in the regions of the state where vote dilution was found,” Jones said in his order.

Why It Matters

Georgia’s case is one of several lawsuits that could determine which political party controls the U.S. House of Representatives after next November’s election. Democrats need to get five Republican seats nationally to gain control. 

Nationally, there are legal battles over redistricting in 10 states. That could set the stage for new congressional maps for the 2024 elections and depending on the outcome, flip control of the House, which now has a 221-213 Republican majority, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile in Georgia, one redistricting expert found Jones’ ruling unusual.

“I’m surprised by his ruling on the congressional map,” University of Georgia professor Charles Bullock, the nation’s preeminent scholar on redistricting, told State Affairs. “Even some Republican legislators thought it was potentially vulnerable and the vulnerability relates to the portion of his original order which said that in creating the new majority-Black districts, you could not dismantle any minority influence districts. And some people thought the 7th (Congressional) District is a minority-influence district and it really has been dismantled.”

What’s Next

While Jones has rendered his decision, it may not be the final decision.

Shortly after lawmakers submitted the new maps for Jones’ review, attorneys for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity filed objections to Georgia’s new maps. The Black fraternity said the maps don’t provide more chances for Black voters to choose candidates for Congress or the General Assembly. Alpha Phi Alpha is a plaintiff in the original lawsuit against the maps.

“I imagine the plaintiffs will probably appeal but given the timeline, I think this will be the maps that we’ll be using in 2024,” Bullock said.

 4 things you should know about the judge overseeing Georgia’s redistricting

Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].

And subscribe to State Affairs so you do not miss an update.

X @StateAffairsGA
Facebook @StateAffairsGA
Instagram @StateAffairsGA
LinkedIn  @StateAffairs