Study finds 'severe underrepresentation' for communities of color among GA county commissions, school boards

The Brennan Center for Justice recently released their analysis of local governments and school boards across Georgia’s 159 counties. It found “severe underrepresentation” for communities of color among elected leaders. According to their research, one in three county commissions in Georgia have no commissioners of color, and one in four school boards are all white in the Peach State.

“People of color make up about 50% of Georgia’s population, but we found that they are only 27% of the state’s county commissioners and 29% of its school board members,” said Sonali Seth, a Fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice.

It’s a problem that is now being addressed in the legal system. Towards the end of last year, Georgia lawmakers were ordered by a judge to redraw the state’s legislative and congressional maps. Plus, a U.S. District Court Judge is currently reviewing a new district map for Cobb County Schools. Both situations were led by accusations of underrepresentation for communities of color.

“The most egregious gaps are actually among Latino and Asian communities — Georgia’s fastest demographic groups,” Seth mentioned during a recent webinar. “They make up 15% of the state, but just a fraction of a percent of county government representatives.”

Groups advocating for more diverse representation, such as Common Cause Georgia and ProGeorgia, say there are structural barriers that make it challenging to have elected leaders that reflect the communities they represent and oversee.

“People are well aware of the lack of representation,” said Karuna Ramachandran, the Redistricting Director for ProGeorgia. “What people are not always aware of is the way voting districts are drawn directly impacts who is in office.”

Ramachandran discussed the issue on Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look with Rose Scott”. Also joining the conversation was Yurij Rudensky, a Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice and Aunna Dennis, the Executive Director for Common Cause Georgia.