Nonprofit Groups Urge Voters to Review Proposed Georgia Unity Redistricting Maps Created to Reflect the Diversity of the State
By Edrea Davis – In an effort to advocate for redistricting plans that are fair and reflect the wide range of racial and ethnic diversity in Georgia as reported in the 2020 Census, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda (People’s Agenda) joined with the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund (GALEO LCDF), the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP (Georgia NAACP), and the Urban League of Greater Atlanta (ULGA) to announce the release of proposed unity redistricting maps and data for Georgia’s Congressional, State Senate and State House districts. The coalition is urging the public to view and voice support for the maps online at GeorgiaUnityMaps.org.
“Despite the fact that the 2020 census count was cut short at the last minute possibly undercounting hard-to-reach minority communities, the U. S. Census Bureau found that Georgia had significant population shifts, is more diverse and more concentrated around cities,” said Helen Butler, executive director of the People’s Agenda.
Butler continues, “People of color make up almost half of the total population in Georgia. Our proposed maps were created in adherence to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and present an opportunity for Georgia’s BIPOC communities to elect diverse leaders that represent their interests. We need voters who want to see redistricting plans that give Georgians of color an equal opportunity to elect candidates without partisan or racial gerrymandering to check out the maps online and comment via the link to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.”
All of the groups proposing the maps are nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations. The proposed maps unpack districts which are over-concentrated with voters of color, while observing traditional geographic county and city concerns, particularly in the Atlanta region. With reference to the Georgia Senate, a new Asian-American opportunity district was created amid the meeting point of Forsyth, Gwinnett, and Fulton counties. A majority Latino/Hispanic district was also created in northern Dekalb County and western Gwinnett County. Highlights of the maps include:
- 8 of 14 (57%) congressional districts are majority people of color
- 8 of 14 (57%) congressional districts are majority voting-age people of color
- 7 of 14 (50%) congressional districts are majority citizen voting-age people of color
- 7 of 14 (50%) congressional districts are majority registered voters of color
- 31 of 56 (55%) state senate districts are majority people of color
- 29 of 56 (52%) state senate districts are majority voting-age people of color
- 96 of 180 (53%) state house districts are majority people of color
- 94 of 180 (52%) state house districts are majority voting-age people of color
The unity maps can be viewed online at www.GeorgiaUnityMaps.org. After review of the maps the public is urged to communicate support of the maps to the Georgia General Assembly’s Joint Reapportionment Committee through its public comment portal at this link: https://www.legis.ga.gov/joint-office/reapportionment/public-comments?edit_requested=true.
Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization performing year-round voter registration, education and mobilization in Black communities throughout Georgia. Led by board chair, Rev. J. A. Milner, and Butler, the organization has headquarters in Atlanta and offices in Athens, Albany, Macon, Augusta, LaGrange and Savannah. For more information visit www.thepeoplesagenda.org, email coalition@bellsouth.net. To learn more about the participating organizations, please visit individual websites at: https://www.naacpga.org, https://galeo.org, and https://ulgatl.org.