Georgia’s post-2020 congressional map followed a three-act script. Republican lawmakers pushed their plan (SB 2) through a 2021 special session, and Governor Brian Kemp signed it on Dec. 30, 2021. Hours later, civil-rights groups filed Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity v. Raffensperger (consolidating Grant and Pendergrass), alleging the lines diluted Black voting strength. Judge Steve C. Jones let the map stand for the 2022 cycle but warned it might not survive on the merits. After a fall 2023 trial, he agreed with the plaintiffs and on Oct. 26, 2023, he found the plan violated § 2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordered the General Assembly to add a new majority-Black district by Dec. 8. Lawmakers returned, passed a replacement (SB 3), and Governor Kemp signed it on Dec. 8, 2023. Judge Jones approved the remedial map on Dec. 28, 2023. The state appealed, urging the 11th Circuit to revive the original map. A second round of oral argument, on the remedial map, was heard on May 15, 2025, consolidating the congressional and legislative map appeals; both remain pending. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's April 29, 2026, ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, Gov. Kemp called a special session beginning June 17, 2026, seeking to redraw Georgia's congressional and legislative maps ahead of the 2028 election cycle. On the morning of June 17, however, Republican legislative leaders rejected the governor's redistricting call before the session convened. House Speaker Jon Burns informed Kemp that the General Assembly would not take up redistricting during the session, citing the need for more time for public input and further judicial guidance from the pending 11th Circuit appeals. Georgia's 2026 congressional elections will proceed under the December 2023 remedial map.

The state legislative process mirrored that path. The General Assembly adopted SB 1 (56-member Senate) and HB 1 (180-member House) during the same 2021 session, and Kemp signed both on Dec. 30, 2021. The Alpha Phi Alpha suit challenged these maps as well; Judge Jones again let them govern 2022 but later ruled on Oct. 26, 2023, that they, too, violated § 2, ordering two new majority-Black Senate districts and five House districts. In the November–December 2023 special session, legislators redrew the chambers (SB 1, 2023, and HB 1, 2023). Gov. Kemp signed the fixes on Dec. 8, and Judge Jones approved them on Dec. 28, 2023, concluding they met his requirements even though they preserved overall GOP majorities. Voting-rights groups argue the remedies still shortchange Black voters; that dispute continues with the same 11th Circuit appeal. An oral argument was heard in January 2025 along with the congressional map, and a ruling is still pending.

last updated: June 2026