As the once-a-decade process of redrawing Georgia’s legislative and congressional districts gets underway, government accountability groups and members of the public are calling on lawmakers to increase transparency and public input in the process.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: Gov. Brian Kemp says he’ll ask the General Assembly to pass laws to fight crime during a special session of the legislature later this year. The session’s primary mission will be to redraw political maps based on new census data. But Kemp has the power to add measures to combat violent crime, especially in Atlanta, to the agenda.
Plus, we look at the outcome of the U.S. Senate field hearing examining Georgia’s new voting law.
The Democratic Party appears on the rise in Georgia, with big gains over the past few election cycles, but the GOP still has its hands on the levers of government, and its power brokers will likely do whatever they can to stay in charge.
As Georgia lawmakers prepare to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts later this year, people from around the state are weighing in with their thoughts on issues they say should be considered in the process.
Wednesday on Political Rewind: As Gov. Brian Kemp prepares to formally launch his bid for reelection later this week, his campaign sends a warning signal to those looking to challenge him. Also, a USDA report shows the extent to which black farmers struggle for help to keep their businesses alive.
Redistricting is always a high-stakes political game, but the pressure is higher this time around after pandemic delays in the 2020 U.S. Census have pushed back the timeframe to at least the fall for states to receive the data they will need to create districts with equal populations.
A lower court has denied Alabama's request to force the Census Bureau to move up the release of new redistricting data and stop plans for a different way of keeping people's information confidential.
Georgia lawmakers held their first in-person hearing Monday on the once-a-decade process to redraw boundaries for the state’s congressional and legislative districts, introducing the public to a partisan drama set to play out this year.
Wednesday on Political Rewind: The public got its first chance to weigh in yesterday on the potentially contentious process of drawing Georgia's new political boundaries. Last night's virtual meeting saw input from many young students' concerns about gerrymandering.
Residents from across Georgia addressed members of the legislative redistricting committees in an online town hall meeting Tuesday, calling for increased transparency in the process and asking lawmakers to protect the interests of the state’s growing communities of color.
While new Census data shows Georgia added more than a million people over the last decade, an even larger change in registered voters — and who they vote for — will be key considerations when lawmakers begin assigning residents into new voting districts this fall.
Friday on Political Rewind: Blue Ridge Republican David Ralston has finished presiding over yet another session as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. It is the election law that will likely be the legacy of the 2021 session. That’s just one of the issues the AJC’s Patricia Murphy and host Bill Nigut discussed with Ralston.
While census delays have pushed back the timeline for the once-a-decade redistricting process, it’s still possible to get an idea of what changes could — and should — be made to our political maps.
As controversy swirls over the comprehensive new voting law that drastically alters Georgia’s election system, another battle with equally profound implications looms on the horizon: redistricting.
