Georgia Legislative Leaders Consider Redistricting After Supreme Court Ruling

Georgia Republican legislative leaders rejected Gov. Brian Kemp's request to redraw congressional and state legislative districts during a special session on Wednesday. House Speaker Jon Burns sent Kemp a letter hours before the session began and announced the decision as demonstrators gathered at the state capitol.

U.S. Supreme Court ruling and pending litigation over existing districts before considering changes.

Background on the Supreme Court Decision The U.S.

Supreme Court ruled in April in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana's congressional map violated the Constitution's equal protection clause by relying on race in district lines. The decision weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections that previously required some districts to give minority voters a reasonable chance to elect candidates of their choice.

Burns said lawmakers wanted to focus on economic issues rather than redistricting and noted that ten other states have already enacted new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms. Georgia would have been the first state to change districts for the 2028 elections.

Trump had urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts following the court decision. The Georgia decision marks a setback for both Kemp and Trump on this issue. Lawmakers did not rule out revisiting redistricting later in the year. Minority voting rights remain a prominent issue in Georgia, where about one-third of state representatives are Black and nonwhite residents make approximately 40 percent of the population.