Overview
- Republican legislative leaders announced they will not take up congressional or legislative redistricting in the June special session and told the governor they will monitor pending court decisions instead.
- Governor Brian Kemp had added redistricting to the session agenda arguing some 2023 maps are unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s new guidance on race-based districting.
- Lawmakers said they will focus the special session on property tax relief, extending the gas tax pause, election measures and resolving a July 1 QR-code ballot deadline rather than redraw maps now.
- Conservative redistricting advocates criticized the decision as cowardice while Democratic leaders warned that attempts to eliminate majority-minority districts would be met with legal and political resistance.
- Legal uncertainty remains because the 2023 federal remedy that created an additional majority-Black U.S. House seat is under appeal and any new maps would not take effect until the 2028 elections, so courts and actions in other states will shape Georgia’s next moves.