The Capitol Hill Newspaper Roll Call has taken a look at Georgia’s upcoming redistricting, and Georgia’s potential to take new maps directly to litigation, bypassing the Department of Justice:
Georgia Republicans are considering bypassing the Department of Justice to get preclearance for their new Congressional map and going directly to the courts instead.
Republicans are looking at that route because — for the first time since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act — they control redistricting and a Democrat heads the Department of Justice.
…
The move is uncommon and involves filing a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where a three-judge panel can approve the districts as drawn.
Georgia is one of nine states where new Congressional district lines have to be cleared in accordance with the VRA. To avoid the cost of litigation, almost all states have the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice preclear their maps.
The article also lists a few contenders for Georgia’s still mythical 14th Congressional district. Many were mentioned here last week, and a few new names are included for your speculating pleasure.
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Nothing unusual here – that’s how it was done in 2001.
Sean Jerguson in a district based around Hall County?
How big would this district be?
My 1st reaction was Joel McElhannon? They were streching their sources looking for quotes. I wouldn’t think he was close enough to use his as a source.
I just hope that, in the same way the Senate rebuffed Casey Cagle, legislators also rebuff the Gainesville Mafia in their attempt to get yet another powerful political office under thumb.
So Hall County had a 30% population increase? So what. It should be noted that Cherokee County had a 50% population increase, pushing it past Hall in total population by almost 30,000 people. The General Assembly would be wise to keep that in mind before hastily handing over a ready-made Congressional seat to one of Nathan Deal’s cronies.
Martha Zoller is the strongest candidate and she is not “one of Nathan Deal’s cronies”.
Radio personalities don’t really have the best track record of winning elected office in GA.
Herman Cain and Jody Hice immediately come to mind..
I don’t recall Cain being in radio when he ran for Senate.
Martha is well liked and well known in Hall county and the suroounding area. I believe she has a good chance of winning.
She has a great chance of winning until Nathan decides who he wants to run for the seat, after which he’ll help said candidate raise more money than all the other candidates combined.
But still no comment on the fact that, in spite of Hall County’s population increase, there are other counties (in particular Cherokee County) that have had as large or larger population increases? Why is it a necessity that this new district be centered on Hall County when other areas have seen larger increases and have larger populations? Other than, of course, that the top leaders in the state all hail from in or around Hall County?
I wonder what Senate Majority Leader Rogers (from CHEROKEE County) has to say about all this. Everyone I talk to keeps saying “conventional wisdom” like this reapportionment session is a forgone conclusion. I would hope (and I have a feeling) that the legislature would keep in mind such factors as larger growth in other areas besides the Governor and Lt. Governor’s home county. Same goes for Mr. Ralston. I don’t see what benefits him in a Hall-focused seat when his constituency is Blue Ridge and north central Georgia, right up 575 from Cherokee County.
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