Democratic Party of Georgia Statement on State Senate Passage of Republicans’ State House Map

In the Georgia General Assembly today, Senate Republicans passed along party lines House Republicans’ proposed State House map, cementing for ten years a map that was rushed to a vote in a matter of days. In response, Scott Hogan, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Georgia, released the following statement:

“The House map that Senate Republicans passed today is an insult to Georgia voters. The new districts diminish the political power of voters of color, completely fail to reflect the partisan makeup of Georgia, and unnecessarily target Democratic incumbents. Republicans are hellbent on suppressing the voices of Georgia voters, and the House map passed today is an extension of that effort. It’s no wonder why Republicans wanted to rush this process by ramming their map through the legislature without sufficient time for review.

“Georgia voters asked for fair maps and a transparent process. Republicans have shown that they do not care what Georgia voters want – they only care about rigging the system for their own partisan political gain. Georgians deserve better, and Democrats will not stop fighting for fair maps that reflect our state and its voters.”

More about Republicans’ State House map:

• The House map minimizes the political power of voters of color.
  • Republicans’ proposal creates one fewer opportunity district than Democrats’ plan and intentionally puts existing opportunity districts at risk, including HD 105 and HD 154, threatening the ability of voters of color to elect their candidates of choice.
  • The Republicans’ map subverts local control in Cobb County, which is majority-minority, and the will of Cobb voters by setting the stage for a GOP takeover of the Cobb County delegation.
• The House map fails to fairly represent the partisan makeup of Georgia.
  • It reduces the share of the Democratic electorate in two currently Democratic districts, HD 48 and HD 105, jeopardizing the political will of those districts’ voters.
  • By carving two new districts out of Democratic metro Atlanta that are drawn for Republican advantage, HD 99 in Gwinnett County and HD 53 in Buckhead, this map diminishes the voting power of metro Atlanta voters who lean Democratic.
• The House map unnecessarily pairs incumbents, targeting Democratic lawmakers and laying the groundwork to force them out of office.
  • Two of these paired Democratic incumbents are in Gwinnett, the county in Georgia with the largest increase in residents, despite the fact that there is an open seat nearby that either incumbent could have easily been drawn into.
  • This competition is designed with the sole purpose to kick out of office Democrats that communities have already chosen to represent them.

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