U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones approved Georgia’s new congressional and legislative voting districts drawn by the state legislature. Jones found Thursday that all three maps added majority-Black opportunity districts in the areas he identified in October, when he found that the maps drawn by the Legislature in 2021 diluted Black voting power.
The new maps maintain a Republican majority in the state House and Senate, as well as the state’s congressional delegation. Jones called for a majority-Black congressional district in West metro Atlanta. The maps passed by the state legislature in 2023 added that district, but also changed voting districts in north metro Atlanta. The 7th District, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, was re-drawn to be majority white instead of majority minority.