Federal appeals court voids 2023 ruling that Georgia’s political maps violated Voting Rights Act

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is sending a lawsuit over Georgia’s 2021 political maps back to a lower court, ordering it to reexamine an earlier ruling that concluded the state’s maps were racially discriminatory.

US Supreme Court limits use of race in congressional district remaps, diluting Voting Rights Act

The decision comes a few months after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that diluted a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by ruling that plaintiffs must prove there was “intentional racial discrimination” in order for gerrymandered districts to be overturned.

Georgia’s case stems from a series of lawsuits that challenged district maps drawn in 2021, which residents and advocacy groups argued illegally diluted Black Georgians’ voting strength. In 2023, District Court Judge Steve C. Jones ruled that the GOP-approved maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordered lawmakers to redraw the lines, a decision that was later appealed by the state.

The case was still pending in the 11th Circuit when the Callais decision was released, and lawyers for the state quickly filed a notice arguing that the Supreme Court decision “compels prompt reversal” of Jones’ earlier ruling.

In an 11-page ruling, a three-judge panel ordered the district court to reconsider the case in light of the new standard.

“The appropriate response to such a significant change of law is to vacate and remand, so the district court may reconsider, in the first instance, whether Georgia’s redistricting plans violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act under the updated Callais framework,” the judges wrote.

The decision will not affect the maps for the 2026 midterm elections. Republican lawmakers abruptly retreated from their plans to redraw the 2028 congressional and state district lines during a special session earlier this year, stating that they were waiting to see how pending legal cases played out.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.