Obama-appointed Judge Approves Georgia’s Congressional Maps
Democrats are not very happy with one of their own today.
District Court Judge Steve Jones, an Obama appointee, had previously denied the maps submitted by Georgia’s GOP-run legislature.
The original maps were denied because Jones found they had diluted the minority vote, which put the maps in violation of Biden’s Voting Right Act.
The new maps addressed this issue to the point that satisfied Jones, so the maps have been approved.
Good to Go
The new maps drawn and submitted by the GOP added black majority districts, thereby satisfying Section 2 of the Voting Right Act.
Jones wrote, “The court finds that the general assembly fully complied with this court’s order requiring the creation of Black-majority districts in the regions of the state where vote dilution was found.”
The ruling continued, “[R]edistricting decisions by a legislative body with an eye toward securing partisan advantage does not alone violate Section 2.
“In fact, the Supreme Court has expressly stated that federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, given the lack of constitutional authority and the absence of legal standards to direct such decisions.”
The maps have added two majority-black districts, but they will still hold a Republican advantage. If demographics hold true, it should work out to a 9:5 advantage for Republicans.
Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) is now in a district that is expected to flip red, so she was obviously upset, stating, “I won’t let Republicans decide when my time in Congress is over.”
These fights on both sides of the aisle will continue forever regarding district maps unless they find a better way to do it.
Dems tried to change the rules with the Voting Rights Act, clearly looking to tilt the rules in their favor, but even that did not work.
This is a huge win for Republicans and clearly, an important one, as they try to retain control of the House, and that is something that will not be easy in this election.
