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The fight over GA’s Congressional districts is just beginning as lawmakers await census data

ATLANTA — Lawmakers met at the State Capitol on Monday to talk about redistricting.

Leadership told Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray that we should expect a special legislative session in November, but lawmakers have already held 11 public meetings around the state on redistricting.

On Monday, lawmakers met to discuss the framework for how they will draw up new Congressional and legislative districts.

The 2020 census said Georgia is home to 1 million more people than a decade ago.

Now, both the state Senate and House redistricting committees will work to draw up all new maps for how Georgia’s Congressional and legislative districts will look.

It’s required by law every decade.

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“We need to as much as possible work together to get these districts right,” said minority leader state Sen. Gloria Butler.

Republicans control the legislature, so they control the process. Democrats worry that Georgia’s 6th and 7th districts, formerly safely Republican, now represented by Democrats Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bordeaux could be re-drawn to be more favorable to Republicans again with a new map.

“We do not control the process. And we will have to work as hard as we can to get those fair maps that everybody is talking about,” Butler said.

The committee listened Monday to concerns from groups like the League of Women Voters and the ACLU.

Republican committee members pushed back against concerns they will gerrymander favorable GOP districts.

“The Republican party has handled redistricting one time in the last 100 years and the maps were found to be fair and legal and constitutional to the point they were approved by a Democratic presidential administration,” state Sen. Bill Cowsert said. 

The process is expected to be controversial. It can’t officially start until after the state receives final census data from the federal government.

They are expecting that by the end of September with that special session then to start up in November.

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