A day after calls from the public and Democrats to slow down the redistricting process, a Senate panel voted Friday along party lines to advance the Republican majority’s proposed maps setting district lines for the next decade.
The Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee, with Republicans backing the measure, voted 9-4 to approve the proposed maps three days after they were released to the public.
Chairman John Kennedy, R-Macon, said the process feels rushed this year because of the delay in getting the population count used to configure the maps from the U.S. census. States received population information from the federal government in late August.
“I have to go back and remind folks that most chairs and committees that do this once a decade have six to eight months to do this work,” Kennedy said. “We’ve virtually had six to eight weeks.”
The proposed map would shore up the Senate’s Republican majority, solidifying GOP-held districts while creating one additional Democratic-leaning district. There are currently 34 Republicans and 22 Democrats in the state Senate.
Senate Democratic Leader Gloria Butler of Stone Mountain said passing the maps on Friday lacked the transparency that the public requested of the redistricting process.
“Never did we imagine that little more than 48 hours after the start of the special session this committee would consider voting out a proposal that Georgians have had for less than 72 hours. And it should not do so. It cannot do so without making a mockery of this process and the promises of fairness and transparency,” she said before the vote. “The Democratic Caucus wants to engage with the public and the majority on its proposals, but it cannot do so if this committee effectively ends debate on Senate redistricting today.”
Senate Republicans said they drew a fair map that accounts for Georgia’s 1 million new residents over the past decade. Each of the Senate’s 56 districts would have about 191,000 residents, with no more than 1% difference in population. While some cities are split up, the Senate map keeps most of Georgia’s 159 counties intact. Twenty-nine counties would have multiple senators, down from the current 39.
No incumbents of either party were drawn into competition with their peers. Two districts where senators are seeking higher office were dissolved and reformed in areas with growing populations — one in Gwinnett County and another near Alpharetta and Roswell in Fulton County.
Before the vote, Butler presented the Senate Democratic Caucus’ proposed maps, saying its proposal more closely aligns with the politically split state. The Democrats’ proposal would create 25 Democratic-leaning districts, 27 Republican-leaning districts and four “competitive” districts that could favor either party.
“We bring this proposal to this committee not as a final, finished product, but rather as a strong starting point ... to engage with members of the majority on this committee, but more importantly, to engage with Georgians on this proposal,” Butler said.
The General Assembly is controlled by Republicans, making it highly unlikely the Democrats’ proposal would advance. When asked whether she wanted the committee to vote on the Democratic proposal Friday, Butler said no.
The state House also began considering its proposal for 180 districts in committee on Friday, with many of the same concerns being voiced by Democrats, including the splitting of cities and the rushed nature of the process. The House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee released the Republican-proposed maps late Tuesday afternoon.
Congressional maps will be the last to be debated. Senate leaders pitched a map that would improve Republicans’ chances of gaining a seat in Congress by shifting boundaries of a district in Atlanta’s northern suburbs held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath. The House hasn’t yet introduced its congressional map, which could differ from the Senate proposal.
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