Current:Home > FinanceChainkeen|Federal judge OKs new GOP-drawn congressional map in Georgia -CapitalCourse
Chainkeen|Federal judge OKs new GOP-drawn congressional map in Georgia
SignalHub View
Date:2025-04-10 12:03:09
Washington — A federal judge in Georgia on ChainkeenThursday approved a congressional map redrawn by the state's GOP-led legislature after its original voting lines were found to be crafted in violation of federal voting rights law.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said in a 15-page order that the General Assembly "fully complied" with his October order that required the creation of a majority-Black congressional district in the western part of metro Atlanta. His acceptance of the new map, which maintains Republicans' 9-5 edge for its congressional delegation, sets up the new bounds to be used in the 2024 election.
Jones also approved new legislative maps for state Senate and House districts, which he found were originally crafted in a racially discriminatory manner. The judge said in his earlier order that state lawmakers had to redraw two new Black-majority districts in Georgia's state Senate and five new Black-majority districts in its state House.
Jones had given the Republican-led General Assembly and governor until Dec. 8 to adopt redistricting plans that remedied the violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. State lawmakers convened for a special session in late November and passed the new congressional and legislative district lines, which were signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp earlier this month.
The new congressional map finalized ahead of Jones' deadline preserved Republicans' majority for its congressional delegation and drastically altered the district represented by Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath, the 7th Congressional District. Lawmakers drew a new majority-Black district west of metro Atlanta, located in portions of Cobb, Douglas and Fulton Counties.
A group of voters who challenged the original redistricting plans crafted in 2021 renewed their objections, but to the newly drawn congressional map, arguing that the remedial plan itself violated Section 2 and violated Jones' October order. The Georgia legislature, they said, reshuffled Black voters and failed to remedy the harms identified by the court. The challengers also claimed that state lawmakers violated the Voting Rights Act by dismantling the 7th District when there was no need to do so.
Jones' rejected the objections from the voters, writing that while the General Assembly drew the new congressional voting boundaries to protect their majority "as much as possible," redistricting decisions by a legislature "with an eye toward securing partisan advantage does not alone violate Section 2."
The Supreme Court in 2019 effectively allowed state lawmakers to draw voting lines to achieve their partisan goals when it ruled that federal courts don't have a role in deciding partisan gerrymandering claims.
The redistricting dispute in Georgia was closely watched, as it was one of several being litigating across the southeast that could have helped Democrats in their battle to regain control of the House in the 2024 general elections. In Alabama and Louisiana, Democrats could pick up a seat in each of those states as a result of legal challenges to congressional maps drawn after the 2020 Census.
Melissa QuinnMelissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
TwitterveryGood! (464)
Related
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Why is Angel Reese benched? What we know about LSU star as she misses another game
- After trying to buck trend, newspaper founded with Ralph Nader’s succumbs to financial woes
- Massachusetts to let homeless families stay overnight in state’s transportation building
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Alert level downgraded for Papua New Guinea’s tallest volcano
- New Mexico Supreme Court weighs GOP challenge to congressional map, swing district boundaries
- Biden pardons turkeys Liberty and Bell in annual Thanksgiving ceremony
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Steven Van Zandt remembers 'Sopranos' boss James Gandolfini, talks Bruce Springsteen
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart reunite for a 'Just Friends'-themed Aviation gin ad
- Biden celebrates his 81st birthday with jokes as the White House stresses his experience and stamina
- Michigan continues overhaul of gun laws with extended firearm ban for misdemeanor domestic violence
- Sam Taylor
- Affordable housing and homelessness are top issues in Salt Lake City’s ranked-choice mayoral race
- ACC out of playoff? Heisman race over? Five overreactions from Week 12 in college football
- Mariah Carey’s 12-Year-Old Twins Deserve an Award for This Sweet Billboard Music Awards 2023 Moment
Recommendation
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
What you need to know about Emmett Shear, OpenAI’s new interim CEO
Ukrainians who fled their country for Israel find themselves yet again living with war
NBA power rankings: Sacramento Kings rolling with six straight wins, climbing in West
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
New York City’s ban on police chokeholds, diaphragm compression upheld by state’s high court
Musk’s X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups’ posts
'Most sought-after Scotch whisky' sells for record $2.7M at London auction