Georgia is just days away from the start of a special legislative session to redraw district lines, even as federal court disputes over the current maps remain unresolved.
Republican lawmakers who control the General Assembly plan to draw new congressional and state legislative districts during the session. The maps will determine political representation through the end of the decade.
The redrawing comes as federal judges have been wrestling with challenges to Georgia's current maps, which critics say dilute minority voting power. In 2023, a federal judge directed state lawmakers to draw new maps, setting up a continuing legal battle.
Democrats and voting rights groups have raised concerns that the GOP-led redistricting could further entrench Republican advantages, particularly affecting heavily Democratic areas in metro Atlanta and southwest Georgia.
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, who has represented Georgia's 2nd Congressional District since 1993, has been identified as the Georgia lawmaker most likely to lose his seat if Republican-controlled redistricting efforts move forward.