Note: This does not mean a wedgie. Americans invariably go there. It means to be anxious, worried, upset, or bothered. Now, carry on.
U. S. District Court Judge Steve Jones ruled on October 26, 2023 in a 516-page order that the State of Georgia’s redistricting map was in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1963 (again) and must be redrawn. This lawsuit had been filed by several groups because the map as drawn by the General Assembly had carefully and deliberately wiped out some of the Democratic seats in the General Assembly, reduced the voting representation of black voters in several areas thereby diluting their voting strength and voice, and increasing the likelihood of continuing the hold and sway of the Republican Party over the State of Georgia.
It was blatant gerrymandering, cracking, and packing. If you wanted to write a textbook “How to Gerrymander An Entire State: Control the Vote, and Control the Election Outcomes”, this would have been an almost perfect example of the practice. Alabama’s also was in the running, but theirs might win out just in terms of sheer hubris. They were told to change their maps THREE TIMES, and they defied the Federal court three times. They’re still going to have to change it. That’s stubborn. I have no idea what that accomplished in the long run except maybe make them look better in the eyes of extremist voters.
Georgia’s Secretary of State Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr weren’t happy about the news either, but they will not ask for a stay while the appeal is in progress. (Do not hold your breath that the appeal will be granted. It seldom is on VRA violations.) The Georgia General Assembly will convene on November 29 to go back to work on the maps. Their mission is to draw TWO new majority Black districts in the Georgia Senate and FIVE new Black majority districts in the State House.
This does, of course, somewhat alter the balance of power in both houses. It’s not enough to “flip” either of the houses, but if you assume that all of these go to Democrats, the margins do become considerably slimmer. THAT is what is eating at the “so-called Republicans” in our midst. They do not want the darker skinned but perfectly capable of thinking among us to exercise their Constitutional 19th Amendment right to vote. In fact, it terrifies them.
Well, in a way, you can’t blame them. They thought they were done with these two years ago and here it is popping up again and biting them in the sitter. I’m not going to cry for them though. In my opinion, they have it coming. They, in effect, are trying to ‘steal’ the voices of black voters, and, to me, that is just wrong from the jump. I might not agree with the way anybody wants to vote, but that does not mean I want to keep them from having their rightful say. That is not what democracy means. What THEY are trying to do is force a form of autocracy down our throats. That is what I will fight until the day I draw my last breath.
My solution to this whole mess?
Scrap this whole idea of the General Assembly doing the redistricting in the first place. That is just begging for trouble. The side with the most candy will ALWAYS make it so that they will always get the best candy and the most pieces. That’s just the way the playground works. (The MAGA folks are always yapping about how the system is rigged. They should know. They help rig it. Experience speaking there.) So what you do is UNRIG it from the startup. Make the system either nonpartisan or intentionally BI-PARTISAN with mediation so that it CANNOT be anything but fair to both sides and a level playing field. That’s all anybody could reasonably ask for. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what the organization Fair Fightc is all about. Just give us a level playing field. Play by the rules and let the voters decide.
But the peculiar thing is, they’d rather scream “rigged” instead of doing something constructive about the corrupted system they helped create. Sort of tells you what and who the real problem is and it isn’t the Democrats.
It’s the hit dog that hollers, folks. Every time.
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Wright4Georgia 
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