Georgia House delays redistricting during special session

Georgia House Republican leaders said they will not redraw the state’s congressional or legislative maps during a special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp, postponing a politically charged fight over district lines until at least a later date.

Kemp had called lawmakers back to the Capitol after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, saying the decision made clear that Georgia would need new electoral maps before the 2028 presidential election. But House leaders said Wednesday that the special session will instead focus on tax relief and ratifying the state’s gas tax suspension.

“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,” House Speaker Jon Burns, House Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones, House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration and other Republican leaders wrote in a letter to Kemp obtained by CBS News Atlanta.

The lawmakers said they wanted more time to assess the effect of the Supreme Court decision and pointed to pending court cases around the country, including several involving 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 said. “For this reason, we will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting for the 2028 election cycle during this special session.”

At a Capitol news conference, Burns said House leaders believed a rushed redistricting process was not appropriate. “When the House learned that it was placed on the call for a special session, we knew it was not the right path forward for our state at this time,” he said, according to NBC News. “We believe that it is important to do things the Georgia way — responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input.”

Republican leaders did not rule out taking up the issue later. State Senate President Pro Tempore Larry Walker III said any new lines would not take effect until 2028, giving lawmakers time to move deliberately. “Because any changes to our current congressional or legislative districts would not go into effect until 2028, we believe it is prudent to take the appropriate and necessary time to do this important duty the right way and not to rush through it,” he said, according to NBC News.

Kemp said he disagreed with the delay, arguing that Georgia’s legislative maps had been deemed unconstitutional because of the Supreme Court 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.”

The decision comes amid broader Republican efforts in several Southern states to redraw political maps after the Supreme Court ruling. NBC News reported that President Donald Trump has urged GOP-led Southern states to enact new congressional maps following a decision that paved the way for dismantling majority-Black seats held by Democrats that had been protected by federal law. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee have implemented redrawn maps in time for this year’s elections, while Mississippi is looking toward the next cycle. Republican lawmakers in South Carolina and Indiana have resisted redistricting ahead of 2026, drawing criticism from Trump and his allies, NBC News reported.

In Georgia, redistricting could carry political risks. CBS News reported that spreading nonwhite, Democratic-leaning voters across more districts in metro Atlanta could make more seats appear to lean Republican, but could also create more battleground districts as white metropolitan voters trend less conservative.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, according to NBC News, that some Republicans feared a redistricting push months before competitive Senate and governor’s races could backfire and mobilize Democrats. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock told CBS News that voters were reacting strongly to what he described as efforts to reduce their political voice. “As I move around Georgia, ordinary people are very upset by this,” Warnock said. “And I think, you know, when you try to diminish people’s voices, they don’t take kindly to that.”