Georgia Republicans Could Target Black Voting Districts - Capital B News
For the first time in decades, Black Georgia voters won’t be able to rely on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to protect them from redistricting efforts to dilute their political power.
On June 17, Republicans could start redrawing voting maps at a special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to strike down a new majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana. The majority decision in Louisiana v Callais found that the district’s boundaries relied too much on race.
This effectively put every majority-Black district in the Republican-controlled state at risk of being carved up. Within days, legislatures across the South began redrawing their maps, now unconstrained by the obligation to ensure Black voters were given adequate representation.
“We already know Black electives are being targeted. Point blank,” state Sen. Nikki Merritt, chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, told reporters at a press conference last month.
The federal Co…