New Congressional map released by House, GOP leaders

ATLANTA — Republican lawmakers on Wednesday released another proposed congressional map that appears to make one metro Atlanta district more friendly to the GOP while leaving another solidly in Democratic hands.

The General Assembly has been meeting in special session for two weeks as lawmakers redraw legislative and congressional boundaries in accordance with new U.S. Census data.

The map appears to make U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s 6th Congressional District less friendly to Democrats by drawing in more white voters, while U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux’s 7th District in Gwinnett County remains a minority-majority district. U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop’s 2nd district also appears to have been drawn to include more white voters, which could make the southwest Georgia district more competitive for the GOP.

“Today, we have released a proposed map that reflects Georgia’s growing, diverse population, respects jurisdictional lines and communities of interest, and conforms to applicable legal standards including the Voting Rights Act,” House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said. “This map will now go through the legislative process in both the House and the Senate, which will include public testimony and debate in both chambers.

Late last week and early this week, lawmakers passed new state House and Senate maps amid protests from Democrats that the maps were drawn in secret and without enough time for public comment.

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