Georgia Legislative Redistricting Challenge (Grant)

Lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of voters challenging Georgia’s new legislative districts enacted following the release of 2020 census data. The plaintiffs allege that Legislature diluted Black voting strength across state House and Senate districts in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The complaint highlights the growth of Georgia’s minority population, particularly Black voters, and argues that the Legislature should have created five additional state House districts and three additional state Senate districts in which Black voters could elect their candidate of choice. Instead, according to the complaint, the Legislature chose to “pack” and “crack” Black voters across multiple legislative districts to weaken their influence. The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the court to block the use of the new legislative maps in future elections and order the creation of new maps that do not dilute Black Georgians’ voting strength. The court denied the plaintiffs’ request to block the new legislative maps, which means that they will were in place for the the 2022 election cycle. In 2023, a trial was held from Sept. 5-14. On Oct. 26, 2023, a federal judge struck down the legislative maps for violating Section 2 of the VRA and ordered the Legislature to redraw the state Senate and state House maps for the 2024 election cycle.

On Nov. 22, the defendants appealed the decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Dec. 20, there will be a hearing in the district court on the legislative maps for 2024. On Dec. 28, 2023, the judge upheld the state’s remedial legislative maps that were enacted by the Republican-controlled legislature. In January 2024, the plaintiffs appealed the judge’s order approving the remedial maps to the 11th Circuit.

This case was consolidated with Pendergrass v. Raffensperger, where all future updates can be found.

Last updated: February 8, 2024 8:45 am EST