Republicans in the Georgia state legislature dropped plans to redraw the state’s congressional and state legislative maps for the 2028 election cycle during a special session that began on Wednesday.Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, previously called for a special session to redraw maps following the Supreme Court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais that effectively killed the Voting Rights Act. The redistricting push in Georgia threatened to eliminate numerous House and state legislative districts with Black majorities or pluralities.In a letter to Kemp on Wednesday, Georgia House Speaker John Burns, a Republican, said that the legislature should wait to consider redistricting as court cases challenging the existing maps continue to play out. Burns also argued that the public should have more time to respond, as it has in past redistricting cycles.“Changes to Georgia’s maps should take place only when members of the General Assembly and citizens have been given ample opportunity to gather the facts, provide input, and engage in meaningful discussion,” Burns wrote. “For this reason, we will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting for the 2028 election cycle during this special session.” Georgia state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, a Democrat, speaks in opposition to the GOP's plan to revise congressional and state legislative districts for the 2028 election.Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe decision to drop redistricting came after a massive outcry and protests from Georgians and Democratic state lawmakers to not move forward with attacking Black political representation.“Our voices and our votes have power, and when we show up and speak out, we make that power felt,” Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight Action, a left-leaning voting rights advocacy group based in Georgia, said in a statement. “This fight isn’t over yet.”The failure of Kemp’s bid to redraw district lines is a huge boon for Black Georgians and Democrats, as most Black voters vote for Democrats. The special redistricting session appeared aimed at getting ahead of a potential bad election year for state Republicans.With a ticket led by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who are both facing weak opposition from Republicans, Democrats have high hopes of winning the governor’s race and at least one chamber of the state legislature in November. If Bottoms wins the governor’s race over billionaire Rick Jackson, Republicans would not be able to enact new maps to eliminate Black districts before the 2030 census.Georgia Republicans appeared poised to join the rush of white Southern Republicans wiping out Black political representation in their states following the Supreme Court’s decision. Tennessee’s all-white Republican legislature and state leadership eliminated the state’s lone Black-majority district, centered on Memphis, quickly afterward. Louisiana and Alabama followed suit by eliminating one of two districts held by Black Democrats in each state.RelatedRepublican PartyelectionsGeorgiaRedistricting