State lawmakers now have a set of guiding principles to use when drawing new political boundaries, but a month before the start of a special legislative session there is still no word on when those maps will become available.
Separate House and Senate panels on redistricting voted Wednesday to adopt these principles, which promise openness and transparency and bind the Legislature to following the Voting Rights Act in drawing new districts for Congress and the state House and Senate.
Among the guidelines:
- Each congressional district -- including the new 14th District lawmakers will create this year -- should be drawn with a population of plus or minus one person from the ideal size.
- Districts that connect at a single point will not be allowed.
- The committees should -- but does not have to -- consider boundaries of counties and precincts and communities of interest.
Adoption of the principles is a steppingstone in the process that began with a series of public hearings across the state. There was no commitment Wednesday that the committees would meet again before lawmakers return to session in August to approve maps, nor was there a commitment on when those maps would be ready.
Lawmakers are using data from the 2010 U.S. census to redraw all 236 legislative districts as well as 13 U.S. House seats that previously existed plus the one new congressional seat awarded the state due to population growth.
The process is of utmost importance to incumbents, and to potential candidates, as even a minor shift in district lines could be the difference between electoral victory and defeat. It's also rife for shenanigans where the party in control often attempts to draw districts to further its interests. This time, Republicans are in control. Ten years ago it was Democrats who ran the show, and Republicans now talked repeatedly about not making the same mistakes Democrats did before.
That won't happen this time, he said, adding he could not be more specific.
The vote was 8-3 in the Senate to adopt the guidelines, with all three votes against coming from Democrats.
Action in the House was quicker and less contentious. After some public input, the committee unanimously decided to adopt the guidelines.
Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, spoke to both committees and said he feared Latino communities would suffer from reapportionment. Others came to the open meeting to make sense of the process, which to some can seem like confusing bureaucracy.
Naomi Swanson and Jeff and Stella Fletcher drove down from northwest Georgia for the meeting and to present lawmakers with a proposal for the 9th Congressional District. They want to see it cover the state's top left corner, instead of spreading out across the top.
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