Georgia lawmakers kicked off the process of drawing new congressional and legislative districts with an online hearing recently to gather testimony about what citizens want to see in the new district lines. Now they are ready to move forward, and have scheduled nine more hearings that will be held in person around the state between June 28 and July 29, with a second online hearing set for July 30.
Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon), Chair of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting, and Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Suwannee), Chair of the House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee, released late last week the locations for the next three upcoming Joint Senate and House Redistricting hearings which will be held in Atlanta, Cumming, and Dalton.
Atlanta
When: Monday, June 28, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: Georgia State Capitol – Room 341
206 Washington Street
Atlanta, GA 30334
Cumming
When: Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: South Forsyth High School – Cafeteria
585 Peachtree Parkway
Cumming, GA 30041
Dalton
When: Wednesday, June 30, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: Dalton State College – Goodroe Auditorium
656 College Drive
Dalton, GA 30720
Dates of the other hearings are as follows. Exact locations will be published as they are announced.
● Tuesday, July 6, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Athens;
● Wednesday, July 7, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Augusta;
● Monday, July 26, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Brunswick;
● Tuesday, July 27, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Albany;
● Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Columbus;
● Thursday, July 29, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Macon;
● Friday, July 30, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. via virtual participation only.
During the initial hearing, many advocates voiced doubts about lawmakers’ openness to meaningful public input, calling for increased transparency. They also complained about short notice for the hearing and that the locations of future hearings had not yet been announced.
State officials are required to redraw lines for congressional, legislative and other electoral districts once every 10 years following the U.S. Census to balance population. Georgia’s overall population rose nearly 10 percent to 10.7 million people over the last decade, but reports indicate that more detailed Census results are expected to show uneven growth, with most new residents concentrated in Atlanta and along the coast. Many rural areas may have lost population.
Districts must be as close to equal in population as possible, although legislative districts get a little more leeway in that regard than congressional districts. Georgia lawmakers will draw boundaries for 14 U.S. House districts, 180 state House districts and 56 Georgia Senate districts. Officials said the ideal U.S. House district will have 765,136 residents, while state Senate districts will average 191,284 and state House districts will average 59,511 people.
The General Assembly expects to receive the full range of census data lawmakers will use to govern the process by the end of September. Governor Brian Kemp then will schedule a special session sometime this fall for the legislature to draw and approve the maps.
