Georgia Republicans are overruling local redistricting maps drawn by Democratic-led counties and enforcing their own commission and school-board zones.
More specifically, Cobb and Gwinnett Counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area and Richmond County in Augusta all have majority Democratic representation at the state Capitol and in their local governments. But at the state level, Republican lawmakers are bypassing the traditional, local redistricting process to enforce Republican-drawn county commission and school-board district maps.
The votes have fallen along party lines and against the will of the county commissions, which traditionally have managed their own local redistricting. Gwinnett County's Republican-backed county commission map passed the Senate yesterday and heads to Governor Brian Kemp for signature. Cobb County's Republican-backed county commission and school district maps passed a House committee Wednesday and await a full House vote. And Augusta-Richmond County's Republican-backed county commission and school district maps were introduced last week, passed the Senate yesterday, and are headed to the House.
On the Senate floor yesterday, state Sen. Michelle Au (D-Gwinnett) called the Republican maps a "stunning abrogation of the custom of majority rule in the democratic process." In a House committee meeting Wednesday, Rep. David Wilkerson (D-Cobb) said he was "disgusted" by the process. Fellow Cobb Democrat Rep. Teri Anulewicz called it "opaque obfuscation."
Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan told her colleagues: "We are tearing this body apart … In the name of what? Being able to take local decisions out of the hands of duly elected officials?"
It seems inevitable that this issue will be headed to court.
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