A voter marks her ballot during early voting, on Oct. 17, 2022, in Atlanta.
Ben Gray/AP
Ben Gray/AP
ATLANTA — A federal judge is ordering Georgia to draw new congressional and state legislative maps after finding the state’s current maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ordered lawmakers to redraw the maps by Dec. 8.
A group of civil rights and religious organizations challenged the maps, arguing that Black residents fueled Georgia’s population growth in the decade before the last census, but that reality did not translate into adequate political representation in Atlanta or Washington, D.C.
The state is expected to appeal.
This is breaking news story that will be updated.