ATLANTA — A federal appeals court has ordered a lower court to review its decision invalidating Georgia’s 2021 political maps following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
A previous ruling found that Georgia’s political maps diluted Black votes and did not comply with standards under the Voting Rights Act. The appeals court is now directing Judge Steve Jones to reconsider the maps using the new standard established by the Supreme Court.
WSB senior legal analyst Ron Carlson said plaintiffs will face a higher burden of proof.
“They will have to establish there was intentional racial discrimination in drawing that map,” Carlson said.
Carlson said plaintiffs will have to show that racial discrimination played a role in how lawmakers drew the maps.
“They’ll have to prove that the lawmakers, or at least some of them, the important ones of them, were moved by racial animus to draw the map in the way they did. It’s going to be a difficult burden of proof,” Carlson said.
Carlson expects the judge to consider the legislative history surrounding the 2021 maps, including what was said during debate over the plan.
“Presume to believe that the trial judge will look at the legislative history here, and what was said during the debates over the 2021 plan,” Carlson said.
Carlson said another round of court decisions will be needed as the case moves forward.
“Another round of decisions by the trials and appeals courts will be required to answer this question,” Carlson said.
The decision will not affect the maps being used for the November midterm elections.
Carlson expects the dispute could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.
