ATLANTA — Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday rejected Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to redraw congressional and legislative districts during a special session, House Speaker Jon Burns wrote in a letter and announced as demonstrators filled the Capitol, chanting “Black voters matter,” Burns said.
Burns told Kemp he was halting the effort hours before the session was set to begin, saying lawmakers needed time to assess the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Burns said they must focus on economic matters and resolve pending litigation over existing districts before taking action, according to his letter.
The move was a setback for Kemp and President Donald Trump, who has urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional lines to benefit the GOP. Ten states have enacted new congressional districts ahead of the November midterm elections, the AP reported. Georgia would have been the first to change congressional districts for the 2028 cycle and the first to redraw state legislative districts.
Civil rights leaders and progressive activists packed the Capitol to oppose the special session and the Court’s reasoning in Callais, they said. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock called the session’s opening “a dark day in Georgia history” and compared plans to eliminate heavily minority districts to Jim Crow-era tactics, saying, “If you want to redraw maps and you have the power to do it, I guess you can do it. But keep Dr. King’s name out of your mouth,” Warnock said.
The Supreme Court in April concluded that drawing maps with racial composition in mind can violate the Constitution and said apportionment should be “race neutral.” That ruling has given some Southern legislatures new latitude to redraw maps in ways that civil rights activists say will dilute minority voting strength. Republican lawmakers privately expressed concern that rushing changes could provoke a backlash or create more competitive districts around Atlanta, the officials said. Republican leaders did not rule out revisiting redistricting later this year.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
