In less than a week, Georgia lawmakers will return to the State Capitol to kick off a special session for redistricting. In an attempt to get a head start on the process, the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus released its proposed legislative district map late Wednesday.
Recently, Democrats in the Georgia legislature released their proposed map for Georgia’s Congressional Districts that would result in seven Democrats and seven Republicans in Washington, as opposed to the current eight Republicans and six Democrats.
Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler of Stone Mountain submitted the Senate Democratic Caucus map, stating that this map “redraws the state’s 56 Senate districts in a way that allows for increased participation by racial minorities.”
“Our map reflects Georgia’s growing diversity, and it is responsive to the will of the people. We cannot create maps that allow any party to be immune to accountability. We have a sacred responsibility to get this right – to ensure that the only power we are preserving is the power of the people’s vote,” Butler said.
In the announcement, Butler went on to say that “Georgians continue to demand an open and fair process resulting in maps reflecting the growing diversity of our state. This map, which was developed with careful consideration and input from stakeholders, demonstrates the Democratic Party’s commitment to a fair, transparent, and inclusive redistricting effort.”
According to the state’s Democratic leaders, this proposal contains 22 districts in which minorities are a majority of residents and a majority of the voting age population, an increase from the 20 such districts that currently exist. The new map also establishes 25 districts that will likely elect Democrats, 27 that will likely elect Republicans, and 4 competitive districts, they said in an announcement Wednesday.
The Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus are encouraging Georgians to utilize the Joint Reapportionment online portal to provide feedback and comments on this proposal. The portal is housed on the Georgia General Assembly website.
