Judge upholds Georgia's newly-revised political maps

Georgia's new political maps were drawn in early December during a special session at the Georgia State Capitol. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

A federal judge has approved Georgia’s newly-revised political maps for Congress and the state legislature, a win for Republicans who sought to preserve their partisan advantage while adding new majority-Black districts required by the court.

“The Court finds that the General Assembly fully complied with this Court’s order,” U.S. District Judge Steve Jones wrote in a Thursday ruling.

The court’s decision to approve the new Republican-drawn maps comes over the objections of the civil rights and religious groups who first sued over Georgia’s maps. They argued that the revised district lines continue to illegally dilute the power of Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act.