Ban partisan gerrymandering in Georgia through a constitutional amendment
The United States Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision has ripped away a core American right to a fair and equal vote.
It has opened the door for Republican politicians clinging to their majorities to abruptly redraw district maps aimed at locking in single-party rule, indefinitely.
Without fair maps voters can’t fire politicians that ignore them, and a single party can hold onto power no matter what they do, or don’t do, leaving voters without any recourse.
Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has joined the mid-decade redistricting push, calling for a Special Legislative Session starting on June 17, “in light of” Callais, not “as a necessary result of” – a telling distinction admitting the lack of necessity.
Georgia’s maps are not illegal and there’s no court order saying they are. Georgia’s current maps already include a built-in Republican advantage that doesn’t reflect the razor-thin election contests we’ve had this decade.
Redistricting is normally a monthlong process
The governor’s proclamation also calls for addressing one election-related problem that does need to be fixed before July 1: the “QR code problem” created by the Republican majority yielding to conspiracy theorists and election deniers claiming the ubiquitous digital codes human eyes cannot easily decipher represent an election security risk.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican, spearheaded a bipartisan fix (Senate Bill 214) on the legislature’s last day that passed 132-39, reflecting broad bipartisan support.
Yet Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the Georgia Senate and is also seeking the Republican nomination for governor with President Trump’s endorsement, refused to allow the Senate to vote on it before adjourning his chamber for the year.
He could have, but he didn’t. And Georgia taxpayers will pay at least $250,000 per week for the General Assembly to hold a special session to fix our incongruent election law before July 1.
Gov. Kemp, who announced the day after signing sweeping tax cuts that Georgia has no money for services and a billion-dollar structural deficit moving forward, curiously chose to add redrawing both congressional and state legislative lines for 2028 to the Special Session docket.
Redistricting is ordinarily a monthslong process involving substantial public input, careful legal review, and meaningful opportunity for legislators and the public to evaluate proposed maps.
I haven’t seen a map. As far as I know, no one has. And, even if a map were made available today, the reapportionment process would still be extraordinarily compressed. Another unknown is what numbers reapportionment will be based on, as Georgia is a growing state and the last census was conducted in 2020.
Bipartisan buy-in is need to amend the state Constitution
The speed and urgency that Republican majorities in our neighboring states have moved to redraw maps with the intent of locking in single-party rule indefinitely illustrates why the Voting Rights Act was needed in the first place.
But even an abrupt and imperfect redistricting process doesn’t have to mean it’s an entirely unfair one, which is why I believe pursuing a constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering in Georgia’s Constitution offers the best path forward.
Passing the constitutional amendment requires significant bipartisan buy-in built into every step along the way and will give Georgia the best opportunity to emerge with fair, competitive district maps that prioritize compactness, contiguity, county and city boundaries, and shared community interests.
The extraordinary companies headquartered in Georgia, all of whom benefit from the labor of our diverse and talented workforce, can stand against unfair district maps and rigged elections that will nullify the voting power of their employees by supporting a constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering.
Georgia is special, we’re different and we should seize this opportunity to show the world why this month.
State Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, represents District 141 in the Georgia House of Representatives and serves as Minority Leader.
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