ATLANTA - Top Georgia officials said Thursday they've filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking approval of the state's new political maps.
Gov. Nathan Deal and Attorney General Sam Olens filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington.
The state also plans to submit the maps to the U.S. Department of Justice and said if the Obama administration approves the political boundaries it will drop the lawsuit. It's a strategy, they say, that was also employed by Louisiana, Virginia and Alabama.
Under the Voting Rights Act, Georgia must receive federal approval for all election-related changes because of its past history of discrimination at the ballot box.
Deal and Olens expressed confidence on Thursday that the maps would receive the needed federal approvals.
"These plans were carefully drawn by the General Assembly to ensure that Georgia's growing population is fairly represented, and we are confident that they meet the requirements for federal approval," the Republicans said in a joint statement.
Democrats contend the maps rip apart their party's successful efforts to forge multi-racial coalitions and resegregate the state by trying to make it harder for white Democrats to win re-election.
State Sen. Jason Carter, a Democrat, said the maps fail to protect minority voters' ability to elect their candidates of choice.
"If that's a concern of the Justice Department, and I suspect it is, they will not approve these maps," Carter said.
They're expected to challenge the maps in court if they pass federal muster.
"If the Justice Department chooses to approve these racially polarizing maps then we will avail ourselves of the justice system and the legal options available to us," House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams said.
Democrats have been emboldened by a recent Justice Department filing in federal court, which argued redrawn Texas maps for state House and congressional districts do not meet federal anti-discrimination requirements. The filing said the Texas maps fail to maintain or increase the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice.
Georgia Republicans, who are controlling redistricting for the first time in the state, have said their maps comply with the Voting Rights Act. They note that they have added more districts with a majority of black residents, such as the 2nd congressional district, now held by U.S, Rep, Sanford Bishop, in southwest Georgia.
Lawmakers must retool political boundaries every 10 years to conform to new U.S. Census data.
This year, the state's growing population earned it a 14th congressional seat, which lawmakers placed in the northeast corner of the state.
Georgia's new maps passed the House and Senate and have been signed by Gov. Nathan Deal. They do not take effect until they receive federal preclearance.
Sunday
July 6th, 2025
1:01PM
