Judge rules Georgia's GOP-drawn political maps push the state further away from equal opportunity

Voters cast their vote in Georgia's runoff election for U.S. Senate in Atlanta on Dec. 6, 2022. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Georgia will have to draw new congressional and state legislative maps before the 2024 election.

This occurs after federal judge Steve Jones ruled last week that current political maps drawn by GOP lawmakers after the 2020 census, which must be redrawn by Dec. 8, violate the federal Voting Rights Act and discriminate against Black voters.

“The Court reiterates that Georgia has made great strides since 1965 towards equality in voting,” Jones wrote in the ruling.

“However, the evidence before this Court shows that Georgia has not reached the point where the political process has equal openness and equal opportunity for everyone.”

WABE politics reporter Rahul Bali has been tracking new redistricting developments and discourse between state Republicans.

He joined WABE’s “Morning Edition” to discuss the ruling’s impact on the 2024 election.

Lily Oppenheimer contributed to this report.