Members of the Georgia Senate and the Georgia House of Representatives Majority Caucuses released a proposed Congressional Redistricting Map Wednesday that, if passed into law, will influence the state’s political landscape for the next 10 years.
But the proposed map has displeased certain members of the political right.
The map is available on the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office website under the “Proposed Plans” section.
Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston, in an emailed press release, said the map “reflects Georgia’s growing, diverse population, respects jurisdictional lines and communities of interest, and conforms to applicable legal standards including the Voting Rights Act.”
“This map will now go through the legislative process in both the House and the Senate which will include public testimony and debate in both chambers,” Ralston said.
“Unlike the unconstitutional maps drawn by a Democratic Majority in 2001, we have sought to plan for Georgia’s future rather than cling to its past. And we have done so in a manner that has been thorough, transparent, and inclusive. That process has already included 11 hearings, more than 20 hours of public testimony and an online portal that has received more than 1,000 comments.”
Republicans hold a majority in the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia State Senate.
Sources told Breitbart Tuesday that “moderates who want to ‘play nice’ with Democrats have temporarily taken the upper hand over conservatives who want to press the GOP advantage.”
“Georgia currently has 13 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It is one of six states that will be gaining representation in the House due to its higher level of population growth in the past 10 years, as the 2020 U.S. Census confirmed. In the current 117th Session of Congress there are eight Republicans and five Democrats in Georgia’s U.S. House delegation,” Breitbart reported.
“Sources tell Breitbart News the redistricting map now under consideration for the 2022 congressional districts, however, would end up very similar to where they are now, either nine Republicans to five Democrats or eight Republicans to six Democrats.”
One source, a national GOP strategist, reportedly told the publication that certain Georgia Republicans “seem intent on helping Nancy Pelosi retain the speakership.”
Ralston, in his press release, thanked State Representative Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) for leading the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee.
Georgia’s chamber of commerce interests has donated $4,250 to Rich (R-Suwanee) since 2018, shortly before she took office. The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission’s website lists Rich’s donors.
Two former state legislators, Jeff Jones and Ken Pullin, said in February that Georgia Chamber of Commerce members, not unexpectedly, have tremendous influence at the Georgia State Capitol. Those two former legislators also said the chambers’ members sometimes work against conservatives’ best interests.
Georgia State Representative Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) said in February she suspected members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber worked behind the scenes to kill Byrd’s Voter ID legislation. That law would have required non-U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their licenses, permits and/or identification cards.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Georgia Capital” by andre m. CC BY-SA 3.0.
