Just Because It's New Doesn't Mean It’s Better

The Georgia Legislature passed new, but still heavily gerrymandered legislative and congressional maps this week after being ordered to draw new maps by a federal judge. In October, the judge ruled that Georgia’s existing maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of black voters, a decision that stemmed from three lawsuits filed by Black voters. 

The ruling ordered the creation of additional majority-Black districts, and the Legislature complied with this part of the requirement by adding:

• One additional majority-Black congressional district in west-metro Atlanta;

• Two additional majority-Black Senate districts in south-metro Atlanta;

• Two additional majority-Black House districts in south-metro Atlanta; 

• One additional majority-Black House district in west-metro Atlanta and  

• Two additional majority-Black House districts in and around Macon-Bibb.

However, the new maps would continue to entrench conservative control in the state by heavily gerrymandering the districts in favor of Republicans. Democrats wouldn’t gain any seats in the congressional or Senate map, and would gain just three seats in the House map — a body that comprises 180 members. The Senate map is so gerrymandered that President Joe Biden would have had to win the state by roughly 15 points for Democrats to have won the chamber.

Even more troubling, the congressional map appears to egregiously defy a court mandate that map drawers cannot remove majority-minority districts — the congressional map does just that by shelving Rep. Lucy McBath’s (D) district in order to create a majority-Black district in west Atlanta.

Republicans have claimed they are interpreting minority opportunity to mean majority-Black, an interpretation opposed by groups that advocate for fair maps. Democrats and voting rights groups have additionally taken issue with the state’s legislative maps, arguing they do not comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Though the Legislature’s quick passage of the maps means its duty is over for now (the Legislature gave itself just two weeks to draw, debate and pass the maps), the fight over fair maps in the state is expected to continue. If Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signs off on the maps, plaintiffs have until Dec. 12 to object to the maps, and if they do, a hearing will be held on Dec. 20 over the matter.

North Carolina’s Congressional Map Faces New Lawsuit

On Monday, Black and Latino voters in North Carolina filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s newly enacted congressional map, alleging it is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

The North Carolina Legislature was forced to redraw its congressional and legislative districts after the state Supreme Court overturned previous decisions it had made that prohibited partisan gerrymandering in the state. The reversal came after Republicans gained a majority on the court, which was controlled by Democrats at the time of the prohibition. 

This week’s lawsuit challenges the newly drawn congressional map, arguing it systematically “cracks” and “packs” minority voters in order to solidify the state’s white majority and eliminate gains made by people of color in the state.

The complaint alleges that the map was drawn with race as the predominant factor and in a manner that was intentionally discriminatory, violating the 14th and 15th Amendments. Plaintiffs additionally point out North Carolina’s long history of racial discrimination.

Due to changes enacted in the new map, multiple minority-opportunity districts were eliminated or weakened, including the northeastern 1st Congressional District, the Greensboro-area 6th Congressional District, and the 14th Congressional District, home to Mecklenburg County, all of which are currently represented by Democrats.

The lawsuit requests that the court declare the congressional plan unconstitutional and order new, lawful districts to be enacted.

While this is the first legal challenge against the newly enacted congressional map, a challenge to the state’s Senate map was filed last month. In that lawsuit, Black voters argue that the state’s Senate districts violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

With lawsuits now filed against North Carolina’s map, there are currently 12 states with congressional maps currently subject to legal challenges.

Victory For Florida Man, Loss For Voters

Last Friday, in a devastating decision, Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal kept Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) discriminatory congressional map in place, reversing a lower court decision that struck down the map for diluting Black voting power in the northern part of the state in violation of the Fair Districts Amendment of the Florida Constitution.

The map dismantled Florida’s heavily Black 5th Congressional District, which had been held by former U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (D). Map drawers did so by cracking Black voters in the district across four separate districts and preventing them from electing a candidate of their choice in the North Florida region, as they had done for roughly 30 years.

The majority in last week’s district court decision found that plaintiffs in the case, Black Voters Matter v. Byrd, failed to prove their alleged diminishment of Black voting power. Citing the Voting Rights Act, the court asserted that Black voters needed to demonstrate that they can constitute a majority in a single “geographically compact community.”

That assertion had been rebuffed by the judge who originally struck down the maps, pointing out that Florida’s state-level test for non-diminishment was “plainly different” from the test utilized in federal Voting Rights Act cases.

The appellate court also brazenly claimed that “[n]othing in the record describes who the Black voters are as members of a meaningful community,” despite the decades of Black representation the region had enjoyed. As Kiara Smith, a Black businesswoman in Lawson’s district said,“[t]he best representation is someone who knows what it’s actually like to be a Black person in America, and that’s going to be another Black person.” 

The plaintiffs in the case appealed the damaging decision to the Florida Supreme Court on Monday, which — if it accepts the appeal — is expected to resolve the case by early March.

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On this week’s episode of Defending Democracy, Marc and Paige speak with special guest Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) about the state’s omnibus voter suppression bill. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube.