A general view of the Atlanta skyline includes the Georgia Capitol dome and a “vote” sign atop the Peachtree 100 building, days before important U.S. Senate and state gubernatorial elections in Atlanta, Georgia , United States, November 6, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst /File photo Acquire license rights
Dec 1 (Reuters) – Georgia Republicans on Friday unveiled a draft map of the state’s U.S. House of Representatives districts for the 2024 elections, which includes a new majority-black district, five weeks later that a federal judge ruled that the existing map illegally diluted the electoral power of black voters.
The new map designed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature would also dismantle a multiracial district currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Black woman, which could violate the judge’s order.
In his Oct. 26 opinion, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said Georgia could not remedy the problem “by eliminating districts providing opportunities for minorities elsewhere.”
Lawmakers gathered this week in a special session called by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to respond to the judge’s ruling, which called on lawmakers to release new House maps by Dec. 8, the House of Representatives and State Senate drawing district boundaries, which are consistent with the federal Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The state separately appealed the decision.
The new map would likely allow Republicans to maintain their current 9-5 advantage among the state’s 14 districts. If, however, the court does not approve the new plan, a court-drawn map featuring a new majority-black district could give Democrats a seat.
This case is one of many in the United States that could help determine which party will take control of the House in next year’s general election. Democrats need only five seats nationally to regain the parliamentary majority they lost in 2022.
The population of Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, a suburb of Atlanta that McBath represents, is currently less than 30 percent white. Under the new plan, the district would become two-thirds white, while the neighboring 6th District would go from majority white to about half black.
In a statement, Republican State House Speaker Jon Burns said the new map “is fully consistent with the judge’s order.”
McBath’s campaign manager, Jake Orvis, said in a statement: “Georgia Republicans have once again attempted to subvert voters by changing the rules.”
Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Will Dunham
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