This story was updated on Friday, June 9, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.
A US Supreme Court ruling denying Alabama’s voting card will affect the outcome of pending lawsuits against county lines drawn here in Georgia in late 2021.
The 5-4 Opinion The vote, released Thursday morning, came as a surprise blow to Alabama’s congressional maps produced by the Republican Party, which had excluded a district with a single black majority.
The Supreme Court confirmed a judgment of a lower court that the cards violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership of certain language groups.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Trump nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the three Liberal members of the court in upholding the central provision of the 1965 law.
By the end of the day, U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones in the Northern District of Georgia had ordered new supplemental briefings to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in two cases – including one in which three lawsuits were consolidated. The written briefings are due in two weeks.
“The Supreme Court has now rendered its opinion (Allen vs. Milligan) and this Court deems it appropriate to proceed,” Jones wrote in a decision Thursday.
The Obama-nominated judge ruled earlier last year that the 2022 election should be held under the new maps due to the upcoming midterm elections, but called it a “difficult decision” at the time.
These maps were created to give the Republicans one more seat in the US Congress, even as Georgia’s state elections have become more competitive. Republicans represent nine of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats, up from eight last year.
state legislature met during a special session Late 2021 to allocate new counties based on 2020 U.S. Census headcount, which has been delayed by the pandemic. The maps were approved by internal party votes.
Anthony Michael Kreis, associate professor of law at Georgia State University, said Thursday the resumed court cases will likely result in Georgia’s map being redrawn at another special session.
“It’s not a certainty, but I think it’s more likely given the court’s very thorough analysis last year,” Kreis said.
But unlike in Alabama, where Democrats are poised to win a new seat, the outcome of new cards in Georgia could be less dramatic. A more likely outcome in Georgia would be a slightly more competitive seat north of Atlanta, but Kreis said such a district would still have a “pink hue.”
“I think from a partisan standpoint, maybe there’s less of a stake in Georgia when it comes to redrawing the map than there is in Alabama,” he said.
Some of the groups involved in the pending legal challenges in Georgia were clearly encouraged by Thursday’s decision.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision, Allen v. Milligan, upholds the long-standing — and still critical — protections of the Voting Rights Act against county cards that weaken the power of voters of color,” Rahul Garabadu, voting rights attorney for the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement.
“The conclusions of the decision also underscore the illegality of the Georgia State maps, which the Georgia ACLU and its affiliates are currently challenging in court. We applaud this decision and look forward to soon seeing similar relief for voters in our Georgia redistricting challenge,” he said.
Fair Districts GA, a group that pressured the legislature to pass more competitive districts, was among those praising Thursday’s verdict. Five cases are pending in federal court in Georgia alleging racial discrimination in the redistribution of congressional and legislative cards.
“Given that the Georgia cases are based on principles similar to those decided in Alabama, we hope the court will apply the law fairly to the facts and issue new maps that better reflect Georgia’s minority communities,” Ken said Lawler, the representative of the group chair.
Jack Genberg, senior counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is also representing plaintiffs in one of the avoidance actions, said, “Today’s ruling reaffirms the essential role of the Voting Rights Act in combating efforts to dilute the voting power of communities.” Color . Those challenging Georgia’s Section 2 PRA redevelopment maps – asking the courts to order Georgia to draw additional black-majority districts – will use this decision to their advantage.”
