Democrats warn Republicans on new redistricting office

By Christopher Quinn

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State Democratic senators cried foul Monday over Republicans' creation and staffing of a new office to redraw Georgia's political districts with a high-powered Republican lawyer.

Anne W. Lewis, general counsel of the Georgia Republican Party, was appointed along with members from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. The members will redraw state and congressional voting districts using the latest numbers from the U.S. Census. Redrawn political maps often bring charges of districts created to favor one party over the other.

"It is my advice to you, that you don't overreach in this process," Sen. Robert Brown, D-Macon, warned his fellow senators Monday.

"You might win in the short end. But you are going to lose in the long run."

Republican leaders announced Feb. 1 the newly created Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office. They got the power to do so under Senate Resolution 5, passed in January. Few legislators paid attention to a one-sentence, second-page paragraph giving Cagle authority with House officers to create and staff new offices.

Democratic Caucus leader Sen. Doug Stoner of Smyrna said Democrats had no idea the redistricting office had been created until they read it in the media , and he called on Republicans to not disenfranchise Democratic voters in the state by drawing districts favoring Republican candidates.

Typically, the state legislature has used a third party such as the Vinson Institute to help redraw districts, but that does not guarantee fairness. The Democrats used the institute when they were in power and redrew lines in 2001 and 2002. Twenty-nine Republicans sued, claiming the districts disenfranchised them, and they won.

A federal judicial panel agreed, saying the new lines spread Democratic voters across more districts and packed Republican voters into fewer districts. A federal judge hired experts to redraw the lines, leaving the taxpayers holding legal and service bills estimated at $2.4 million.

The creation of the office drew a response from the League of Women Voters of Georgia.

“Reapportionment must be a fair and open process for all citizens of Georgia. While we are relieved that they did not choose a private company to conduct this work, we hope the priorities of this office are a commitment to non-partisan redistricting and a transparent, open process with many opportunities for citizen input,” said Tracey-Ann Nelson, Executive Director of the League.