Judge upholds redrawn Georgia congressional map in win for Republicans

A federal judge in Georgia upheld the state’s newly approved congressional maps in a win for House Republicans, dealing a blow to Democrats who sought an opportunity to flip a seat in the Peach State next year.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones approved the redrawn maps on Thursday, ruling the Republican-drawn boundaries sufficiently complied with the court’s previous order to include a second black-majority district in the state. The decision likely guarantees Republicans will preserve control over nine of the 14 House districts in the state as well as their majorities in the state legislature.

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State lawmakers were required to redraw congressional boundaries after Jones ruled in October that the state’s current map violated the Voting Rights Act, ordering the state to create a second black-majority district. Georgia Republicans submitted their newest proposal in early December that added a majority-black district just west of Atlanta but, in doing so, dismantled a nearby district comprising mostly minority voters.

As a result, that district, currently held by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), has been shifted further into GOP territory.

Democrats and voting rights groups challenged the maps shortly after they were signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, arguing the redrawn lines dilute the power of minority voters. In their court challenge, the groups accused Republicans of shifting voters from outside of the “explicitly defined vote dilution area” into the new black-majority district while ignoring 50,000 black voters from the outlined “vote dilution area.”

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However, the court rejected that argument, noting it did not confine Republicans to specific districts and that it only instructed that the black-majority district be drawn in west Metro Atlanta, a condition that was met in their proposal.

The approval of the new maps sets the stage for the boundaries to be implemented ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Republicans an advantage as they seek to hold on to their slim majority in the House.