REAPPORTIONMENT UPDATE - NEWSLETTERS

October 24, 2011

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

On October 6, 2011, Gov. Nathan Deal and Attorney General Sam Olens filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking pre-clearance of the House, Senate, and Congressional maps that were passed by both chambers of the legislature during the August 2011 Special Session.   

Additionally, Gov. Deal has announced the intent of the Republican leadership to simultaneously seek pre-clearance through the Department of Justice’s administrative process.  An initial filing was made on October 11, 2011, and an additional submission letter was mailed on October 21, 2011. 

As you know, a handful of jurisdictions, including Georgia, with histories of discriminatory voting practices cannot implement any change impacting voting without first obtaining “pre-clearance” under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  Pre-clearance requires the state to demonstrate that a proposed voting change is not retrogressive and does not have the purpose or effect of discriminating based on race.  

States can seek pre-clearance through the Department of Justice, or through the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with the Justice Department evaluating the maps as a party to the case.  Georgia has opted to do both – which means we will be monitoring the courts and the DOJ.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

1. LAWSUIT: Now that a federal lawsuit has been filed, there will be filings in response outlining why the maps decrease the ability of racial minorities to obtain effective representation.  Those who make these filings will want to include letters and statements from individuals and organizations.  Please forward these types of documents to: comments@georgiafairdistricts.com

1. DOJ PRE-CLEARANCE: Additionally, concerned citizens may voice their opposition to the proposed maps and the re-segregation of Georgia by contacting the Justice Department directly.  Complete contact information for DOJ is the last item included in this document.

Please encourage your constituents to submit comments to DOJ.  DOJ must respond by December 11, 2011, so the earlier comments are submitted, the better.

If you have leaders in your community who think the maps are unfair and who would like to get involved, let us know!  Allies and others will be filing with the courts to explain their concerns, and they will want to include letters and statements from individuals and organizations.  Please forward these types of documents to: comments@georgiafairdistricts.com.

1. TIMELINE: If the maps fail to obtain pre-clearance, the Georgia General Assembly will have to revisit the maps in the 2012 legislative session.  Pre-clearance is required before any map can take effect, so the legislature would have to redraw the maps to fix the issues that prevented pre-clearance.

1.    4. YOUR ROLE: You can help us gather information from concerned constituents and community organizations.  Please forward any and all information you gather to: comments@georgiafairdistricts.com

Also, please visit www.gafairdistricts.com to stay up-to-date with maps and updates.  Encourage your friends and community leaders to do the same.

OTHER STATES

What has happened in other states protected by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act?

There have been two significant developments with respect to pre-clearance in other states: 

In Alabama, Shelby County sued the federal government regarding the Voting Rights Act earlier this year, arguing that they should no longer be subjected to Section 5 of the VRA.  In response, a federal district court judge in Washington, DC upheld the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, citing the history of racial discrimination in Alabama and its continued presence as a continuing justification for congressional action to protect the voting rights of racial minorities. Additionally, the judge rejected Shelby County’s arguments that the procedural requirements of the voting rights act were burdensome, and applied unfairly to select states, and showed great deference to the 2006 Congressional reauthorization of Section 5.  Though an expedited appeal of this decision has been filed, this decision is valuable for proponents of Section 5 of the VRA.  

In Texas, the DOJ recently filed an objection in the U.S. District Court case regarding the Congressional and state House maps passed by the Texas legislature this year.  In their filing, DOJ lawyers questioned the legality of the maps for the Texas House and for the state's congressional seats, saying they "deny that the proposed Congressional plan, as compared with the benchmark, maintains or increases the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice in each district protected by Section 5." The Justice Department used the same language with regard to the plan for the 150 Texas House districts.  Texas is seeking pre-clearance through the courts; the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. must now determine if these two maps meet the Section 5 requirements of the VRA.   

WHY OPPOSE THESE MAPS

In this decade, with these maps, we see race being used to single out white Democrats in an attempt to ignore emerging population trends and to destroy the ability of people to build multi-racial coalitions within their communities.  This is not only morally wrong, it is unlawful.

Thirty percent of Georgia’s population identifies as African-American, 8 percent Latino and 3.5 percent Asian and the 58 percent as White.  None of these Georgians will be fairly represented under these new maps. 

Redistricting is fundamentally about voters, and in Georgia, minority voters comprise fully 42 percent of the population.   More importantly, in many districts, these populations have built multiracial coalitions to build political power.  

Under the recently approved House Maps, Republicans have paired 20 percent of Democrats and 7 percent of Republicans.  The pairings pit black Democrats against white Democrats in four contests, white against white in another and eliminate multi-racial coalition voting across the state.  When the dust settles, between these pairings and the creation of GOP-leaning districts, Republicans stand to knock off 10 white Democrats – half the total number of our current delegation.  Moreover, the only pairing in the Senate Map involves an incumbent white Democrat paired with an incumbent black Democrat, and destroys an effective crossover district where multiracial coalitions have been able to elect the candidate of their choice.  

Under these maps, the GOP has potential to pick up seven new House seats, for a total of 123 Republican seats, 56 Democratic seats and one Independent.  In the Senate, one Democratic seat will trend Republican and a second will be eliminated.  This would give Republicans a constitutional majority in the state of Georgia; in other words, they will be able to pass any piece of legislation without opposition. See the maps

DOJ CONTACT INFORMATION:

If you want to continue the fight against resegregation in Georgia, voice your opposition to the redistricting maps with a letter to the Department of Justice! 

Mailing address:

Mr. Chris Herren

Chief, Voting Section

Civil Rights Division

Room 7254 - NWB

Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

If you would like to send your letter through an overnight express service such as Airborne, DHL, Federal Express or UPS, then your letter should be addressed to:

Mr. Chris Herren

Chief, Voting Section

Civil Rights Division

Room 7254 - NWB

Department of Justice

1800 G St., N.W.

Washington, DC 20006

You may also email your letter to vot1973c@usdoj.gov.  Please enter “Georgia Redistricting” in the subject field. 

If you would rather not send a letter or email, you may also call the Department of Justice at 1-800-253-3931 and ask to speak to the Georgia Redistricting team. 

You can also Fax 202-616-9514 and on your cover page, please reference “Georgia Redistricting”

If you have additional questions, concerns, or would be willing to share your letter, please contact at: comments@georgiafairdistricts.com