Ruling against Alabama congressional maps could send Georgia lawmakers back to drawing board
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting Alabama’s voting map will influence the outcome of pending lawsuits challenging district lines drawn in late 2021 here in Georgia.
The 5-4 opinion released Thursday morning offered a surprise blow to the GOP-created congressional maps in Alabama, which had set aside a single majority Black district.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate based on race, color or membership in certain language groups.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Trump-nominated Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the court’s three liberal members in keeping the key provision of the 1965 law intact.
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 in two cases – including one where three lawsuits have been merged – to argue the impact of the Supreme Court decision. The written briefings are due in two weeks.
https://georgiarecorder.com/2023/06/08/ruling-against-alabama-congressional-maps-could-send-georgia-lawmakers-back-to-drawing-board/