- Georgia Republicans have advanced new legislative maps that would preserve majorities in the state House and Senate.
- The proposed maps do not reveal how they plan to redraw Georgia’s 14 congressional districts.
- U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled in October that Georgia’s legislative and congressional maps violated federal law by diluting the power of Black voters.
Georgia Republicans on Thursday pushed forward new legislative maps that would preserve their majorities in the state House and Senate, while still not revealing how they want to redraw Georgia’s 14 congressional districts.
A state Senate committee voted 7-5 along party lines to advance a new Senate map, while a House committee voted 9-5 to advance a new House map. Both bills advance to their full chambers, which could debate them Friday.
GEORGIA SENATE GOP PROPOSES MAP WITH 2 BLACK-MAJORITY DISTRICTS TO ADDRESS VOTE DILUTION CONCERNS
Democrats and some outside groups targeted the Senate map as particularly flawed, saying it fails to create significant opportunities for Black voters in the 10 districts that a federal judge identified as violating the law. But Democrats also question the House map, in part because it would alter or eliminate two districts in which no ethnic group is a majority.
Lawmakers are meeting in special session after U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled in October that Georgia’s legislative and congressional maps violated federal law by diluting the power of Black voters. Jones ordered Georgia lawmakers to draw additional Black majority districts, including one in Congress, two in the state Senate and five in the state House.
GEORGIA LEGISLATURE MAY GAIN MORE DEMS IF JUDGE RULES GOP MAP ILLEGALLY WEAKENED BLACK VOTING POWER
Republicans have proposed maps that would create the additional required number of Black majority districts. Because Black voters in Georgia strongly support Democrats, that could strengthen the party’s position. But Republicans have proposed other changes to…
Read the full article here
