Congressional redistricting committee draws map, moves Clyde from 9th to 10th District

Redistricting session starts Nov 3

Legislative committees that are working on congressional redistricting have released a map that proposes new districts: it draws Athens gun shop owner Andrew Clyde into a district that includes Athens and moves him from the 9th to the 10th congressional district. Governor Brian Kemp has scheduled a redistricting session that will begin on November 3.

From the Associated Press…

An initial proposal to redraw Georgia’s congressional districts appears to give Republicans a better chance of winning a suburban Atlanta congressional district now held by Democrat Lucy McBath, but raises a number of other questions.

The map was released Monday without any accompanying data, making it impossible to exactly judge what it would do. Beyond the changes to McBath’s 6th District, it would make the suburban Atlanta 7th District much safer for Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux and draw Republican Andrew Clyde out of northeast Georgia’s 9th Congressional District into a reconfigured 10th Congressional District.

The map was released Monday by Senate redistricting chair John Kennedy and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, both Republicans. There was no accompanying data, making it impossible to exactly judge what the map would do. Beyond the changes to McBath’s 6th District, it would make the suburban Atlanta 7th District much safer for Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux and draw Republican Andrew Clyde out of northeast Georgia’s 9th Congressional District into a reconfigured 10th Congressional District.

It’s hard to tell how seriously to take the map. In any event, state House members will have their own proposals and the two chambers will have to reach an agreement.

Gov. Brian Kemp last week set Nov. 3 as the starting date for an upcoming special session. Lawmakers must redraw electoral districts at least once every 10 years following the U.S. Census to equalize populations. The process helps determine which party will hold power for the following decade.

Activists had clamored for lawmakers to release draft maps far enough in advance of the session for meaningful public comment, but Republicans had seemed to indicate that was unlikely. That makes Monday’s release a surprise, more than a month before the session’s start. Duncan and Kennedy, both Republicans, said they were “committed to continuing the practice of transparency and fairness,” qualities seldom associated with past Georgia redistricting processes.

The state’s overall population rose nearly 10% to 10.7 million people over the last decade, but Census results showed uneven growth, with most new residents concentrated in the Atlanta area and around Savannah. Most rural areas lost population.