The issue of congressional, house, and senate voter maps in Georgia is headed back to court.
The three sets of plaintiffs that sued the state of Georgia over congressional, house and senate voting maps have filed briefs with the federal judge who ruled in their favor in October, urging him to reject Georgia’s proposed maps and draw new voting districts himself in time for 2024’s legislative and congressional elections. Republican legislative leaders repeatedly said during a special legislative session that ended last week that their goal was to comply with judges’ directives.
The plaintiffs say the maps don’t do enough to remedy problems in the particular districts that U.S. District Judge Steve Jones found to be illegal under the Voting Rights Act. Jones has scheduled a Dec. 20 hearing on whether he should accept the plans. The state is supposed to file its defense of the plans next week. Georgia election officials have said that districts must be finalized by sometime in January in time to prepare for next year’s elections.
