Ga. redistricting maps thrown out; special session called

Georgia lawmakers will be called to a special session to redraw the state’s Congressional and legislative maps after a federal judge ruled Thursday that they violate civil rights law.

U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones in Atlanta said the maps drawn by the Georgia legislature in 2021 substantially diluted minority voting strength, especially in parts of metro Atlanta, under the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

Gov. Brian Kemp has signed an order calling for a Nov. 29 special session after Jones ordered new maps be completed by Dec. 8.

Among the particulars in Jones lengthy ruling (you can read it here) is the creation of a majority-black Congressional district in the western part of metro Atlanta, and several majority-black legislative districts in the Atlanta and Macon areas.

The plaintiffs included a number of civil rights organizations, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia and individuals alleging their voting rights have been diminished due to the 2021 reapportionment.

They cited black population growth in Georgia over the last two decades that has not been reflected in political representation in the U.S. House and legislature.

Nine of Georgias’s 14 Congressional seats are held by Republicans, including three who represent portions of Cobb County.

Georgia’s black population has grown by 484,048 people since 2010, while the white population fell by 51,764.

“In the last decade, all of Georgia’s population growth was attributable to the minority population, however, the number of majority-Black congressional and legislative districts remained the same,” Jones wrote in his ruling.

“Based on the 2020 Census, the combined Black population in Cobb, Fulton, Douglas, and Fayette Counties is 807,076 persons, more than necessary to constitute an entirely AP Black congressional district—or a majority in two congressional districts.”

That could affect how Congressional lines are drawn in the East Cobb area. Until 2021, East Cobb was mostly contained in the 6th Congressional District.

That was represented from 2019-2022 by black Democrat Lucy McBath after many years of GOP representation, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

But the redrawn map included a lesser portion of the 6th District in East Cobb and pulled in some of the 11th District, aimed at ensuring Republican seats.

The 6th now includes some of north Fulton, Forsyth and Dawson counties, which are conservative.

McBath moved to the 7th Congressional District, based in Gwinnett County, after that. Rich McCormick, a conservative Republican, won the 6th and veteran GOP House member Barry Loudermilk was re-elected in the 11th.

Jake Orvis, a McBath spokesman, issued a statement Thursday saying that she “applauds the court for upholding the principles of fair and equal representation. While the outcome of the process remains unclear, one thing is certain: Rep. McBath will not be letting Republicans in the state legislature determine when her work serving Georgians is done.”

Jerica Richardson, a Cobb Commissioner from District 2 in East Cobb, has announced she is running for the 6th District seat, and she has been campaigning in Dawson and Forsyth.

After being drawn out of her commission seat that expires at the end of 2024—and for which a home rule dispute is still pending in Cobb Superior Court—she said in a statement Thursday that while she agrees with the ruling, it doesn’t change her plans to seek federal office.

“This race for me was never about this court decision,” Richardson said. “From day one, I’ve made it clear I was committed to representing the 6th district and bringing back compassionate leadership to our community.”

She said regardless of how the new lines are drawn, “I’m here to represent the people, to fight for their issues, needs, and concerns. I am grateful to today’s decision, and am more committed than ever to winning this race.”

One of the plaintiffs in the voting rights lawsuit is Coakley Pendergrass, an associate pastor at Turner Chapel AME in Marietta and a community and faith leader who lives in the redrawn 11th District.

Jones said in his ruling that Pendergrass and his related plaintiffs “have shown that Georgia’s Black population in west-metro Atlanta is geographically compact to comprise a majority of the voting age population in an additional congressional district.”

The 2021 maps included a portion of South Cobb in the 14th District, represented by Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Jones’ ruling is the second by a federal judge ordering new maps in Southern states under the Voting Rights Act. The Alabama legislature was ordered earlier this year to create a new map with an additional black-majority seat in the southern part of the state.

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