Georgia must redraw maps to give Black voters fair shot, federal judge rules

Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Georgia Republicans must redraw congressional and state legislative maps to give Black voters in the state a fair shot at electing the candidate of their choice, a federal judge ruled on Thursday in a decision that could result in an additional Democratic seat in Congress.

When Georgia Republicans drew the state’s 14 congressional districts last year, they placed the lines in such a way that they weakened the influence of Black voters in the west metro-Atlanta area, violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Judge Steve Jones ruled on Thursday.

Jones gave Georgia lawmakers until 8 December to draw an additional majority-Black district in the west metro-Atlanta area, and said the court would draw a map if the legislature could not come up with a new plan by then. Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, a Republican, on Thursday called for a special session of the legislature to convene on 29 November to redraw the districts.

By Sam Levine.

Full story at Yahoo News