GOP Release New Legislative Maps

By Charles Edwards

Atlanta, GA – Every 10 years after a new Census count, the party in power in Georgia redraws lines for state and federal legislative districts. In unveiling those new maps today, Republicans called them fair and legal. That remains to be seen according to Democrats.

Let's say you have two State Representatives from the same party who represent different districts. If you put them in the same district, chances are one of them won't run again or both will run against each other. Either way, that party will probably end up with fewer members in the state legislature.

That has happened to Republicans and could very well happen to Democrats next year. However, House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones argues Democrats won't have it as bad as Republicans did in 2001.

"The major change was, first of all, these are honorable maps," said Jones. "The maps in 2001 were vindictive maps."

Jones said Democrats, who ruled in 2001, drew more than half of the GOP's state lawmakers in districts against each other. That number, she said, is smaller for Democrats this time around. That's part of the reason Jones says the maps pass legal muster.

"I do not believe it is possible to comply with the Voting Rights Act and to keep communities of interest and to have fewer pairings than you see on those maps today," said Jones.

If that's true, House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams wondered why Republicans haven't shared data used to draw the maps with Democrats.

"We are deeply concerned that this promised transparency did not take place," said Abrams. It's like being given a puzzle with a legend without being given the legend."

While Democrats continue to study the maps, Abrams did say the pairing of white elected Democrats against each other could raise major legal eyebrows.

"We are purging white Democrats from the state of Georgia in terms of their elected official status and we are eroding and polarizing and re-segregating the state of Georgia by creating a minority Democratic party and a white Republican party."

Next week, the state legislature begins a special session to approve the maps. However, the final decision will come from the U.S. Justice Department. The agency will determine if the maps, once approved, violate the federal Voting Rights Act.