Crowded pool of Democrats seeking new seat

JONESBORO - If it seems odd that south Fulton County shares a congressional seat with Social Circle, in Walton County to the east, and Flovilla, in Butts County to the south, blame technology. <br> <br> The Democrats who control the Legislature relied on computers to craft a new, spider-shaped suburban district where one of their own will most likely be elected. It&#39;s a clear case of political gerrymandering, but one that&#39;s allowed by the courts. <br> <br> The new 13th District is so stuffed with Democrats that the five hopefuls running for the seat are doing all their advertising and baby-kissing now. The winner of the August 20th primary is virtually guaranteed to win the November general election. <br> <br> The district was created last summer, after Georgia got two more seats in Congress because of population growth. It snakes through heavily black south Fulton and Clayton counties and winds around to nab Hispanic voters in Gwinnett County before heading east to Walton County. <br> <br> More than 50 percent of the district&#39;s residents are black or Hispanic. The voters there have picked Democrats 58 percent of the time in recent elections. <br> <br> Emory University political scientist Merle Black calls it ``a geographical monstrosity&#39;&#39; and says it exists only to cluster distant Democrats in a single district. <br> <br> The Democratic candidates are not complaining about the shape, though.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/7/192743