‘Redraw the maps now’ | Georgia Republicans seize on Supreme Court gerrymandering ruling

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia Republicans wasted no time in calling on state lawmakers to redraw the Peach State’s congressional maps after Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court’s majority found the Louisiana district represented by Democrat Cleo Fields relied too heavily on race. Chief Justice John Roberts had described the 6th Congressional District as a “snake” that stretches more than 200 miles to link parts of Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority.

Why this matters

• It could change who wins elections in Georgia. The ruling gives Republicans new ammunition to push for redrawn congressional lines that could reshape key districts before the next election.
• It’s a major shift for voting rights law. The decision narrows how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be used, making it harder to challenge maps that weaken minority voting power.
• It sets up an immediate political fight at home. Georgia leaders are already split over whether to call a special session and redraw maps, turning a Louisiana case into a Georgia flashpoint.

“In light of today’s Supreme Court ruling, redrawing the maps must be added to the agenda,” said Rick Jackson, who is engaged in a nuclear war of attrition with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. “Democrats nationally are trying to redistrict their way back to power.

“There is no time to waste. Georgia must act now to ensure secure elections in Georgia and counter the Democrats’ national assault on our elections.”

“I agree that in a society built on the equal protection of law, no state should be directed to draw legislative maps on the basis of race,” Jones himself said on X. “Given that Georgia was ordered to do so in its last round of redistricting, I fully support redrawing our state’s legislative maps in compliance with today’s decision.”

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, who is trying to distance himself from a crowded GOP lieutenant governor’s primary, went on X to call on his party “to be bold.

“Now is not the time for Republicans to be weak-kneed,” he said. “Call for special sessions. Redraw the unconstitutional Congressional maps in the South.”

Another GOP lieutenant gubernatorial hopeful, David Clark, said the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been hijacked by “radical, progressive Democrats ... to manufacture congressional and state legislative seats ... and concoct absurd narratives of racism straight from the playbook of the disgraced Southern Poverty Law Center.”

MORE COVERAGE: Supreme Court voids majority Black congressional district in Louisiana, boosting Republican chances

“Today, the United States Supreme Court delivered a historic and long-overdue victory for equal protection under the law by striking down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that have long imposed artificial racial quotas and distorted our electoral maps,” said Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon. “The Georgia Republican Party calls on the General Assembly to convene a special redistricting session as soon as practicable to redraw Georgia’s congressional, state house, and state senate districts.”

Meanwhile, former metro Atlanta state senator Jason Esteves — who is battling former, one-term Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and a score of other Democrats in their gubernatorial primary — said, “the fight for fair maps and equal representation in Georgia begins in this governor’s race, where it is essential that we elect a strong Democrat who will serve for two terms to oversee redistricting.

“The Supreme Court just advanced Donald Trump’s mission to gut voting rights and target Black voters across the country,” Esteves said. “Georgia Republicans are plotting to rig the system, with Rick Jackson already calling for a special session to continue gerrymandering our state.”

“This latest ruling is a devastating setback, taking a sledgehammer to the very protections that generations of civil rights leaders fought and bled to secure. It weakens our ability to challenge voting maps that are racially discriminatory — maps designed to dilute and diminish the voices of Black and Latino communities,“ Bottoms said. “It’s already clear that Republican leaders in Georgia will use this devastating ruling as an excuse for further attacks on voting rights.”

Why the Louisiana v. Callais ruling is important

• Louisiana first drew a U.S. House map with only one district where Black voters were a majority, and courts said that likely broke the Voting Rights Act.
• Louisiana then drew a new map with two majority-Black districts to fix that problem.
• Some voters sued and said the new map was illegal because the state used race too much when drawing the lines (a “racial gerrymander” claim).
• The Supreme Court case asked whether making that second majority-Black district to follow the Voting Rights Act can still violate the U.S. Constitution’s equal-protection rules.
• The Court’s decision matters because it affects how states can draw fair maps and how strong the Voting Rights Act is in future redistricting fights.

Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and other civil rights leaders also decried the ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision marks a profound defeat for American democracy and will pave the way for partisan politicians to pick their voters,” Warnock said. “For decades, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has protected fair and equal representation in our democratic process.

“With this decision, coupled with the continued erosion of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, the voice of the American people has never been squeezed further from our democratic discourse,” Warnock said.

Similarly, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King said they are “deeply troubled” by the ruling in a joint statement.

“With this decision, the Supreme Court has further weakened the Voting Rights Act, the crown jewel of the civil rights movement,” the statement said. “This is not simply a legal setback, but a moral indictment that reflects a continued retreat from the promise of equal justice.”

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been the main way to challenge racially discriminatory election practices. Nearly 70 of the nation’s 435 congressional districts are protected by Section 2, election law expert Nicholas Stephanopoulos has estimated.

Alito wrote that “allowing race to play any part in government decision making represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context.” He said Section 2 is effectively limited to instances of intentional discrimination, a very high standard.

But in her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said the upshot of the decision is that states “can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power.”

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