What Republicans Are Trying to Pull in Redistricting Georgia

Civil rights and voting rights activists organized an impressive public protest at the special session of the Georgia General Assembly on June 17, and Republican legislative leaders balked. They postponed gerrymandering maps to reduce the state’s number of majority Black Congressional districts until next year’s regular session, which begins early January. It was a textbook example of how organizing and participating in strategic action can work. But it also means the fight has only begun.

Freed by the US Supreme Court’s Callais decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, Georgia’s Republican leaders have not retreated. Instead they are re-grouping and developing new strategies and opportunities to take full advantage of the Court’s ruling. Therefore, understanding their strategies is critically important for developing and sustaining future counter strategies to prevent or minimize their successes. Here’s what has happened and will likely happen as Republicans aim to sharply reduce the opportunity of minority citizens in Georgia to elect the candidates of their choice.

What Has Happened So Far

Since Georgia’s early voting in 2026 primaries began as the Supreme Court issued its Callais opinion, the Georgia Republican legislature had no chance to gerrymander Congressional maps for this year. So, despite the calling of a special session, there was no need for Republican legislators to rush the maps since the earliest new districts can take effect only in 2028. Faced with protests and huge media attention, Republicans saw that they were running a risk of making redistricting one of the top issues in this November elections and motivating Democratic turnout in their own legislative elections this year. So they had every reason to postpone and deny Democrats an effective organizing issue this November.

Republican Governor Brian Kemp also had no reason to object strongly to the postponement. He called the special session to keep on the good side of the administration, but now he will have no political liability for what the legislature may do – or not do – in passing new maps since he will be out of office when they do act in 2027. As a possible 2028 presidential candidate, Kemp is staking out the political territory of being a party-compliant Republican who is not governed in all things by the national platform. It is the political posture of having it both ways that he has maintained in the state and will try to continue to project as he explores a presidential bid. So, the postponement suits Kemp’s political goals just fine.

What May Happen in Redistricting Georgia (2027-2028)

Here is what the Republicans are probably hoping will happen in 2027. In the regular session that runs from January into May, the Republican legislature will consider and debate many important, divisive issues of which redistricting will be only one. So, voting rights no longer will be the sole issue or the singular focus of lobbyists, the public, and the media.

In addition, the optics for Republican gerrymandering will look much better in 2027 than they do in the summer of 2026 when Republicans in other Deep South states have created a frenzy for eliminating majority Black districts. Remember, too, there will be no elections for a state or federal office in 2027, and anyone who opposes the Republican’s misdeeds and gerrymandered maps will have to wait 18 months in which to make it an issue that influences the November 2028 election.

Perhaps just as important for their strategy, by waiting until 2027 Republicans get to draw Congressional maps and the boundaries of their own state legislative districts in such a way to eliminate any gains that Democrats may make in this year’s November election. As a result, Republicans can run in 2028 in newly-redistricted, safer Republican districts with the least possible political fallout from reducing minority voting strength through gerrymandering.

Finally, the Republicans also know that if Democrats are able to win the governor’s race this November, Kemp can call a special session while he is still in office in December to allow the Republicans to pass gerrymandered maps and prevent a Democratic governor from vetoing such legislation in 2027.