Redistricting battles continue in neighboring states
Democrats and Republicans are fighting redistricting in several states to increase the number of red or blue seats.
Fox – 5 Atlanta
The redistricting battle has reached Georgia as the state Legislature begins a special session Wednesday.
The meeting, convened by outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, will discuss potential redistricting in the Peach State, as well as other state issues such as vote counting and gas taxes.
The special session has been met with widespread opposition, with Republicans criticizing Kemp for saying redistricting would not go into effect until the 2028 election cycle, and Democrats arguing that redistricting would inevitably deprive minority communities in the state of representation.
State lawmakers who still had voter reform on the agenda at the end of their regular session in April were bound to return to Atlanta’s Gold Dome this year. However, following a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling, redistricting was added to the agenda.
Here’s what you need to know about the special session starting June 17th.
What are lawmakers discussing in Georgia’s special legislative session?
Georgia’s special legislative session will convene at 2 p.m. on June 17, just one day after the primary runoffs set the stage for the rest of the 2026 election cycle.
Special sessions in Georgia are held when resolutions or bills are passed but not completed during the regular 40-day session that ended in April. The governor has the power to recall the Legislature to end an impasse or start a new debate.
Calling special sessions is not uncommon in Georgia, and Kemp has already called them twice, in 2021 and 2023.
In his updated and revised 2026 proclamation, Kemp said the special session would “review and confirm” gubernatorial appointments made since the end of the regular session, approve the previous gas tax suspension brought about by high fuel prices, and address the July 1 deadline and voting reforms set by SB189.
In the aftermath of the 2020 Georgia election, Congress will need to find an alternative to the current ballot scanning machines that use QR codes, and will likely opt for something like hand-written paper ballots instead, in the aftermath of the Georgia election where a sizable portion of the MAGA base claims votes were stolen in Fulton County.
Kemp also said that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Calais, lawmakers will consider enacting, amending, repealing, or modifying general legislation to divide the state into appropriate districts to take effect in the 2028 election cycle.
What was the Supreme Court decision that started redistricting?
On April 29, the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prevented racial gerrymandering, in Louisiana v. Calais, ruling that partisan redistricting does not violate the law’s protections.
According to the ruling, the Supreme Court will largely turn a blind eye to partisan gerrymandering, making it more difficult for plaintiffs representing minority groups to argue that new district boundaries are discriminatory.
The decision comes as Texas, California and Virginia have already taken steps to redraw their congressional districts in a bit of an arms race of redistricting ahead of the midterm elections.
States in the South, in particular, are currently redrawing state lines to exclude either Republican or Democratic seats, depending on who controls the state legislature and governor’s seat.
Protests planned to coincide with start of special session in Georgia
The special session is not without its conflicts both inside and outside the statehouse.
A coalition of local groups, national organizations and faith leaders are planning protests to coincide with the start of the session.
According to a release from the SPLC, groups including the Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Voter Affairs, the Georgia NAACP, and the New Disabled South will “speak out against the South’s concerted strategy of erasing black and brown political power in Georgia.”
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once served, has also spoken out against the redistricting effort.
“Georgians are angry about this president’s broken promises. Endless wars and reckless tariffs have made everything more expensive. On top of that, 1.2 million Georgians have had their health care premiums doubled, all to fund billionaire tax cuts. Now, the same people who took away doctors from Georgians are redrawing boundaries to take away Georgians’ voice,” Warnock said in a statement. “Republicans under Gold Dome are using their power not to make life more affordable, but to evade accountability from the people.”
Eileen Wright covers Georgia politics as an Atlanta Connect reporter for USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
