Democrats in the Georgia legislature have released a proposed congressional redistricting map that would give the party equal representation in the U.S. House.
Currently, eight Republicans and six Democrats serve, and this map would be evenly split at seven. The biggest change would move the 10th Congressional District, in east Georgia and currently represented by Republican Jody Hice, to Cobb, Douglas and Fulton counties.
The proposed 9th District would rotate to include most of the current 10th District while the 14th would run across most of north Georgia, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s 11th District would no longer include Cobb and Fulton but instead stretch over to include heavily conservative Forsyth County and part of Hall County.
“Georgia has changed significantly over the last decade, and our proposed congressional map reflects that growth,” Rep. Sanford Bishop said in a statement. “We are proud to have collaborated with Georgia House and Senate Democrats to devise a congressional map that recognizes Georgia’s rich diversity and evolving political landscape.”
Bishop’s district would see minimal tweaks, adding in Democratic-leaning areas of Warner Robins and part of Thomas County to reach the equal population requirement.
The Democratic proposal statement also notes that shifting another district to metro Atlanta “rightly acknowledges that more than half of all Georgians live in metro Atlanta, which has driven more than two-thirds of Georgia’s population growth over the last decade.”
House Minority Leader James Beverly said the map reflects “fairness, transparency, inclusivity and integrity.”
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Senate Republican leadership released a map late last month that went in the opposite direction, making the 6th Congressional District represented by Lucy McBath a conservative-leaning district by adding Forsyth County to the north Fulton County suburbs that anchor the seat now.
The redistricting special session begins Nov. 3.
