Federal judge rules Georgia congressional maps violate Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn – JURIST

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Georgia’s General Assembly to redraw the state’s enacted Congressional Districts Thursday, finding the districts were in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The 516-page opinion covers three consolidated cases: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity v. Raffensperger and Grant v. Raffensperger, which both challenge Georgia’s state legislative districts, and Pendergrass v. Raffensperger, which challenges Georgia’s state Congressional districts.

Among several other factors, such as partisan preference and demographic changes, the opinion discusses how Georgia has closed more than 200 polling locations since 2012, despite its Black population growing significantly in that period. The nine counties in the Atlanta metro area account for nearly half of Georgia’s registered voters, but only 38 percent of the state’s polling places. The court wrote that “white voters consistently bloc voted to defeat the candidates supported by Black voters,” and “[b]ecause voting is starkly polarized in general elections, without drawing districts that provide Black voters with an opportunity to elect [their candidate of choice] districts in the areas examined will not elect Black-preferred candidates.”

The court found that plaintiffs in Alpha Phi Alpha and Grant had met their burden of showing a violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and that the Alpha Phi Alpha proved that the electoral system was not equally open to Black voters. The court ordered Georgia to redraw their districts by December 8, 2023, saying “if an acceptable remedy is not produced, there will be time for the Court to fashion one—as the Court will not allow another election cycle on redistricting plans that the Court has determined on a full trial record to be unlawful.”

Georgia is not the first southern state ordered to redraw their congressional maps this year. Alabama was ordered to redraw its congressional maps when federal judges found their maps violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Alabama appealed to the US Supreme Court, failed to get a favorable decision, unsuccessfully appealed to the US Supreme Court a second time, and ended up having a panel of three federal judges select their maps.