A federal judge in Georgia found Thursday that the state’s congressional and legislative maps discriminate against Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act and ordered the state to draw new maps in advance of next year’s congressional elections.
In a more than 500-page opinion, Judge Steve C. Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia gave the state until Dec. 8 to draw new maps before he would step in to appoint someone else to do so. The challenge to the maps has been ongoing for nearly two years and is one of several states where court battles over redistricting could help tip the balance of power in the closely divided House.
The opinion found that the state violated the VRA by drawing a map that minimized Black voters’ ability to influence the outcome of elections in five of the state’s 14 congressional districts, mostly concentrated around Atlanta and northern Georgia.
