Georgia House shelves redistricting in special session
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Georgia House Republicans shelved plans to redraw political maps during a special legislative session that began Wednesday.
Why it matters: Georgia Republicans worried a redistricting fight over state legislative and congressional seats could energize Democrats and overshadow the campaign season.
Driving the news: Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington said lawmakers won't take up redistricting during this session in a Wednesday letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, as reported by the AJC.
- Burns said redistricting "should take place only when members of the General Assembly and citizens have been given ample opportunity to gather the facts, provide input, and engage in meaningful discussion."
Yes, but: Kemp disagreed with Burns but yielded to the House's decision.
- Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, fresh off a defeat by health care businessman Rick Jackson for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, argued that lawmakers should press forward.
- "Failure to deliver is not an outcome I am willing to accept. We need to do our jobs and get this done," Jones said, according to the AJC.
Any new maps would require approval from both legislative chambers.
Catch up quick: A Supreme Court ruling in April weakened the Voting Rights Act, the landmark law that aimed at protecting minority voters from discrimination when lawmakers draw political districts.
- Republican-led Legislatures in the South met to redraw court-ordered political maps and, in the process, potentially dilute Democrats' power.
- Not long after, Kemp told the Georgia General Assembly that redistricting would be on the table, in addition to pushing back a deadline for the state to change how Georgia counts votes.
The big picture: Democrats and voting rights activists warned that the ensuing partisan and racial gerrymandering could draw Black lawmakers out of their districts or pit them against each other in a primary fight, Capital B Atlanta reported this month.
- The southwest Georgia congressional seat held for decades by Rep. Sanford Bishop, whose bipartisan style won the respect of fellow Democrats and Republicans, was expected to be a prime target.
How it works: Only the governor or a two-thirds majority of the Georgia House and Senate can call a special session, which tends to only last a week or two.
- They're not legislative free-for-alls; in this case, the governor decides the issues up for consideration. Any unrelated legislation that passes during the session is deemed unconstitutional.
Go deeper: How gerrymandering works