Georgia Republicans decline to redraw congressional map after voting rights decision

Georgia Republicans declined to redraw the state’s congressional map during a special session, citing a rushed timeline and incomplete understanding of the ramifications of a recent US supreme court decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.

“We believe that it’s important to do things the Georgia way, responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input,” said Jon Burns, the Georgia house speaker.

It comes as Republicans push to redraw voting districts to the party’s advantage in an effort to preserve its slim majority in the US House of Representatives. The GOP is scrambling to leverage a supreme court ruling in April that weakened minority protections under the Voting Rights Act.

Some states, urged by Donald Trump, did so rapidly. Others have been more hesitant.

Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Burns emphasized the need to address other matters, including the reimposition of a moratorium on gasoline taxes, a way to reduce property taxes and a vital legislative change to a 2024 law that threatens to cast the legality of vote-counting machines in doubt ahead of the November election.

“Changes to our district maps have the potential to impact every voter in Georgia, and they deserve the same quality accurate process that has always guided the house … with every citizen of our state has an opportunity to make their voices heard,” Burns said.

A potential congressional redistricting effort brought Raphael Warnock, a US senator for Georgia and a prominent Democrat, back to the state to protest against it. Justin Jones, a Nashville state representative who led legislative resistance to redistricting in Tennessee, which passed new maps in May, stalked the halls of the Georgia capitol in Atlanta to raise awareness.