Georgia state House lawmakers will not redraw voting districts during special session

Lawmakers in Georgia’s House of Representatives say they are holding off on redrawing Georgia’s legislative maps during Wednesday’s special legislative session.

In a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp obtained by CBS News Atlanta, House Speaker John Burns, House Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones, House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, and other Republican leaders say that they will focus the session on tax relief and ratifying the state’s gas tax suspension.

Kemp called the session in May, weeks after the Supreme Court issued its 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, saying the court’s ruling made clear that Georgia would need new electoral maps before the 2028 presidential election.

“In regard to your request to redistrict for the 2028 election cycle, the House has always conducted redistricting with considerable time for public input and with careful attention to constitutional requirements and the interests of every Georgia community,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “Since this process has the potential to impact every voter, it deserves the same responsible, fact-driven approach that guides every policy we consider as lawmakers, especially as we seek to understand the full implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais.”

The House leaders pointed to cases pending in courts across the country about the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling, saying that several of those cases involve Georgia’s current and previous maps.

“Changes to Georgia’s maps should take place only when members of the General Assembly and citizens have been given ample opportunity to gather the facts, provide input, and engage in meaningful discussion,” the letter reads. “For this reason, we will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting for the 2028 election cycle during this special session.”

In response to the House leadership’s decision, Kemp said that Georgia’s legislative maps have been deemed unconstitutional due to the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“I do not believe there is reason to delay the apportionment process, especially with the legislature already convening,” Kemp said. “Legislative districting, however, is the responsibility of the General Assembly, and it is within their discretion to defer the issue until a later date.”

Concerns over possible backlash to redistricting

Even if the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature redraws the maps in the future, it’s not guaranteed that the party will get what they want.

Partisan gerrymandering involves redistributing voters — packing certain citizens into fewer districts or dividing them across more districts. Around metro Atlanta, spreading nonwhite, Democratic-leaning voters across more districts could make more seats seem to lean Republican. The risk, however, is that more battleground districts emerge because white metropolitan voters are trending less conservative, which could give Democratic candidates of any race or ethnicity more chances to win.

That’s perhaps not a major factor in the Georgia state Senate, which already is considered heavily leaning for Republicans. But it could be a consideration when drawing state House and U.S. House maps.

On Tuesday, during the primary runoff elections, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said in a conversation with CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett that the gutting to the Voting Rights Act was creating political backlash among Georgia voters, saying efforts to limit voting access have historically motivated turnout rather than suppressed it.

“As I move around Georgia, ordinary people are very upset by this. And I think, you know, when you try to diminish people’s voices, they don’t take kindly to that,” he said.

The Associated Press and previous CBS News reporting contributed to this report.