ATLANTA — Opponents of Georgia’s Republican-drawn congressional districts told a judge Monday that new political boundaries weaken representation of Black voters, whose population grew by nearly 500,000 over the past decade.
But defenders of the maps argued that the changes, designed to gain Republicans a seat in Congress in this year’s elections, don’t discriminate based on race or violate the Voting Rights Act.
At stake is the future of Georgia’s representation in Congress, where Republicans currently hold an 8-6 advantage over Democrats. During redistricting in the fall, the General Assembly reshaped district boundaries in an effort to flip a seat in Atlanta’s northern suburbs currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath.
