Georgia’s governor announced that he will call lawmakers back to work to redraw legislative voting districts for the 2028 elections, while Republican senators in Louisiana advanced a plan on Wednesday to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional seats before the November midterm elections.
The developments showed the far-reaching ripples of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander, weakening the protections of the federal Voting Rights Act. The decision has prompted various Republican-led states to try to dismantle districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.
Since the court’s ruling, Tennessee and Alabama have already enacted new House maps that could help Republicans win an additional seat in the November elections, in which control of the closely divided chamber is at stake. A similar effort fizzled Tuesday in the South Carolina Senate but may not be over.
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