Georgia Senate, House committees advance Republican-backed redistricting maps

(The Center Square) — Georgia Senate and House committees advanced modified legislative maps for their respective chambers following a whirlwind day of hearings and debate.

The Senate Committee on Reapportionment & Redistricting voted in favor of SB 1EX, while the House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee passed HB 1EX, Republican-backed plans. Both measures head to the full chambers for consideration.

Lawmakers must redraw districts after U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones ruled that previously approved maps violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Jones set a Dec. 8 deadline for lawmakers to redraw congressional and state legislative maps.

During a Thursday state Senate committee hearing, Sen. Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain, said a separate measure, SB 4EX, a Democrat-sponsored proposal they said complied with the court order, leaves 46 state Senate districts unchanged and modifies 10. Additionally, it does not pit any incumbents against one another, the senator said.

Conversely, Butler said, the Republican plan modifies 15 districts, eight identified by the court as diluting black voting power.

“In truth, the map proposed by Republicans fails to comply with the Voting Rights Act and continues to dilute the voting power of black voters in south metro Atlanta,” Butler said during the committee meeting. “In many ways, the Republican proposal is a hoax in the specific area where the court found voting rights violation.

“The Republican proposal achieves additional majority black districts by packing and reconfiguring non-affected areas elsewhere on the map,” Burlet added. “…We believe that passing the Republican map would only lead to more litigation and waste taxpayer dollars. Georgians deserve fair maps. It is our duty to create fair maps that reflect the diversity of Georgia and comply with federal law.”

Republicans disagreed with the assertion, saying their proposals align with Jones’ order.

“The only difference between these two plans — they’re both creating those districts in the area required or suggested by the judge — is that the Democratic plan has partisan advantages where they add two Democratic seats. And the chairman’s plan does not,” State Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, said.

“Let’s stop the debate about the racial components because both plans comply with what the judge requested, and it’s the maximum amount of African American participation,” Cowsert said. “Any suggestions of voter suppression are simply inaccurate. The voting data shows we had the highest African American turnout ever in the history of this state after these maps were passed, and we had the highest voter turnout. Nobody’s votes are being suppressed.”