GERALD GREENE: Population growth leads to changes in state’s legislative districts

On Wednesday, the Georgia General Assembly convened for a special legislative session. Article V, Section II, Paragraph VII of the Georgia Constitution grants the governor the power to convene a special session of the General Assembly, and my colleagues and I were called into this special session following the arrival of 2020 U.S. Census data. During this special session, the General Assembly is responsible for adopting legislation that would redraw and update our state’s legislative and congressional maps based on the new census data.

Since the decennial U.S. Census occurred during 2020, all 50 states must begin the process of modifying the boundary lines of statewide districts ahead of the 2022 election cycle. As the population in our state grows, the number of people in each legislative and congressional district must be adjusted so that the population in each district is as close to equal as possible. According to the 2020 census data, Georgia’s resident population is now 10,711,908 people. Our state grew by approximately 1 million new residents over the last 10 years, which is an increase of more than 10 percent since the 2010 census. As a result of this population growth, Georgia’s 14 congressional districts will adjust to have 765,136 people in each district.

As the House and Senate work to redraw maps based on population sizes, they must also consider other requirements. District maps must comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and consider traditional principles of redistricting, such as ensuring that communities of interest are represented, avoiding major changes to the existing representation in the legislature and keeping local government jurisdictions whole.

Each state has its own way of redrawing its legislative and congressional maps. Here in Georgia, the state legislature creates new district maps through the legislative process. The House and Senate each have a standing committee that works with the nonpartisan Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office to update these maps. This summer, the House and Senate reapportionment committees began preparing for the special legislative session by holding town hall hearings across the state, as well as virtually, to gather testimony directly from Georgians about how the redistricting process and their current district lines impact their communities.

During these 11 joint public hearings, the committees heard from more than 300 speakers and received 22 hours of testimony. These meetings were live-streamed to the public and archived on the House website. The committees also launched an online portal for Georgians to voice their thoughts, opinions and concerns about this process, and so far, there are more than 700 online submissions. The public comment portal can be found here.

This week, the House Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment Committee held its first hearing of the special session to discuss proposed maps, and the committee will continue to hold meetings next week.

Several other standing House committees also met this week in preparation for the 2022 regular legislative session, making the most of our time under the Gold Dome. Many of the issues that will be discussed in our committees during the special session could be addressed through legislation after the 2022 legislative session starts in January.

As we move through the redistricting process, I will continue to provide you with important updates on how the proposed maps may affect our local communities. I’ll be spending most of my time away from the district until the special session adjourns in the coming weeks, and I hope to hear from you while I am at the State Capitol. I welcome you to reach out to me and share your thoughts and opinions on the redistricting process or any other topics that may come before the legislature next session. I can be reached via email at [email protected], or by phone at (404) 656-9210.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

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