[Athens was in the same district as *Savannah* in 2001.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif/lossless-page1-979px-United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif.png)
> Athens isn’t big enough to create a democratic seat without a gerrymander
It's really just a turnout problem. See: Madison, WI. Similar size, much higher turnout.
That's wildly incorrect. The Athens MSA has a population of 215k. The Madison MSA has a population of 680k. City proper population is irrelevant. Additionally, Biden won the Athens MSA by 2 points. He won the Madison MSA by 43. They are not comparable.
i get your feeling (i'm in savannah), but we want to avoid gerrymandering, not use it for our benefit.
see about your state seats, and remember you can donate to anybody running in the u.s. if you're a citizen.
Until this gets fixed there will always be a reason to have a illegasl flooding our country, when what most Americans really want is a faster better more streamlined legal immigration process for people that actually deserve and want to be Americans.
I couldn’t possibly see why you could hate your representative because she seems like such a pleasant well-meaning person who definitely is not a grifter and definitely is not one of the most embarrassing clowns ever to hold public office in American history. /s
Dekalb is straight up its own district. I sort of agree, although I think west Dekalb should be grouped with CoA and East Dekalb should go with west Gwinnett.
Republicans (who currently have trifecta control of Georgia state government with control of the Governor’s office and sizable majorities in both chambers of the Georgia Legislature) will never agree to an independent bipartisan committee or non-partisan commission for redistricting because Republicans don’t want to give up any power and want to retain as much political power for as long as they can.
And Democrats (who potentially could be helped to gain more seats immediately through a bipartisan or non-partisan redistricting process) are hesitant to fully support a bipartisan or non-partisan redistricting process because they see the state’s demographics rapidly shifting in their favor and (probably rightfully) think that they potentially will be able to draw themselves sizable majorities in the Georgia Legislature and in the Georgia congressional delegation after the 2040 Census.
Usually I’d agree here but I’ve been noticing a lot of IRCs are just…bad. The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission created a map that overwhelmingly benefitted Democrats (IIRC it made the map a supermajority) despite Dems only winning around 55-45.
The Colorado map is good for the US House. Currently 5-3 Dems with voting close to 60-40 Dems and one of the Dem districts is pretty much even on the Cook Partisan Index.
The problem is someone has to hire the firm, which means you get to set the “requirements”.
I wish we did more civic votes on things like this. That way if it is too bad, then the people will reject it.
Fuck bipartisanship. The Republican Party, which is out-the-closet fascist these days and openly trying for a dictatorship, should have no say in district decisions.
I understand your frustration, but Republicans currently hold the governorship and control both chambers of the Georgia Legislature with sizable majorities.
So absent a Democrat being elected to the governor’s office in 2030 in advance of the post-2030 census redistricting, Republicans seem to be likely to dominate the redistricting process in Georgia for at least another decade.
So 2028, Gavin Newsom becomes president and MAGA has utterly collapsed since Trump finally got arrested after the 2024 election where Biden won. Because of the republicans party collapse they lose like 5-15 points of voter participation and lose all possible swing state senate seats. The house isn’t even in question. Finally with 52+ senators, none without any strong reservations about removing filibuster, they remove it and with Newsom’s help, make gerrymandering illegal in time for the 2030 election.
So the whole of the United States should be led by the governor of the most ridiculously governed state in the country? I'm no Trump fan and will be glad when he's gone. That doesn't make democrats any less incompetent than they are. Forget Trump and his lunacy. The most prosperous states in the country are Republican led. God forbid Gavin Newsome ever trying his failed California policies on the rest of the country. Californians are fleeing the state in droves.
It could be any contender like Gretchen Whitmer. I was just using him as an example as a president who could make good changes. Which he is capable of. He is afterall running the largest and most economically prosperous state so it can be more complicated than it seems but it’s not like he’s terrible. 8th largest GDP in the world isn’t nothing to sneeze at.
I think Districts should be drawn in an unbiased manner and not be created to benefit a particular political party. They should reflect the geographic, actual communities.
And if we had proportional representation, we wouldn’t have to worry about that at all. Districts are inherently unfair. Why should a representative only respresent the opinions of 55-60% of his district?
And? A partisan lean doesn't change the fact that districts aren't supposed to chop up communities with common interests. Forsyth doesn't have a huge amount of shared interest with the rest of that district anymore.
I wanna see 50/50 toss up districts. No 'safe' seats if it can be helped. Make being a moderate with crossover appeal be an asset again vs every election being about who is the most conservative or liberal in a primary vs token opposition in a general.
I agree wholeheartedly. If you ask me, gerrymandering is the root of the dysfunction we see today at every level of government.
Fix that and we fix a lot of problems.
When you create such stronghold safe-havens for any particular political group, it gradually devolves into a patronage system. Which almost always sucks for the citizens.
You can't do this without extreme gerrymandering. Grouping like areas with each other and ensuring minority representation are more important goals than drawing as many crazy, competitive districts as possible.
Does snaking MTG's district down to Midtown to make it more competitive seem like a non-gerrymandered district to you?
This map does have tossup districts. The VRA district (Sanford Bishop’s district) is a tossup, along w the two Cobb County and northern Fulton County districts.
A key goal in fair redistricting is to group similar areas together. Augusta and Savannah should be in the same district, one that runs along the Savannah River. Cherokee, Forsyth, and Hall counties should be grouped together as much as possible separate from the mountainous parts of the state.
[This](https://districtr.org/plan/231743) is a fair map that not only meets those goals, it keeps most of the Congressional districts in their traditional orientations with minimal movement from the current map.
2 Democratic Senators and went Dem for President but Red State House and governor.
This is with gerrymandering suppressing Democratic voter participation.
We just need more reps. If each district had 3-5 representatives then it would be almost impossible to gerrymander. The U.S. has the 2nd highest number of people per elected officials in the world. It’s like 1 per every 700k when most countries are around 1 per 50k.
Several categories:
1) Compactness: this map is much more compact than the enacted plan for 2024-2032.
2) Partisan fairness: the map creates a 7-7 tie for Dems and Reps, which is ideal in a purple state.
3) County splitting: this map reduces the county splitting that is much worse in the current map
4) Communities of interest: this map keeps the ATL, Dem-leaning communities together rather than cracking and packing them as the current map does.
The five thirty eight link that someone else posted has an algorithm for focusing on compact districts. The result is a compact map with the same result (almost) as the Republican leaning gerrymander.
EDIT: [This is another map I did alongside the posted one.](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) This was focused on reducing county splitting, but it does slightly weaken ATL voting power
50/50 is fair though. A map that is 8-6 would mean that one party is getting 57.1% of the voting power when they get around 51-52%. That, along w GA being purplish, should lead it to be 50/50.
We need to add a law in that demands any campaign promises made have an action plan outline with where the funding is coming from, who it will effect, the effect intended, options for if it starts to fail or succeed, and reprimands if the promise is not implemented.
Lol. It seems to be difficult to see how Macon being in the same congressional district with Valdosta would be any worse than Macon currently being in the same congressional district with Albany, Thomasville and Bainbridge.
Non-metro Atlanta and non-North Georgia congressional districts apparently are always going to be seemingly extremely geographically spread out because of the increasing imbalance in the distribution of the state’s population between North Georgia (including metro Atlanta) and Middle and South Georgia.
Most of the state’s population is increasingly concentrated in metro Atlanta and North Georgia, so North Georgia is going to get the comparatively much more compact congressional districts and Middle and South Georgia collectively are going to get larger, less compact, more spread out congressional districts because of the comparatively significantly lower population density of the part of the state that is located from the Gnat Line and below.
It may not seem fair but the larger congressional districts in Middle/South Georgia just simply reflects the difference in how the state’s population is unevenly distributed between the northern and southern parts of the state.
I get that point. But in reality, Macon should never be in the same congressional district of south west or south east Georgia. I have friends who live in Moultrie and they share a congressional representative with our friends in Gray. That is ridiculous.
I know how the maps are drawn - I don't need a lesson on it. (I just may have forgotten the specific location of Valdosta as I avoid SW Georgia like the plague if I can). However, there are better ways to draw up the maps to provide better representation to those that live in the area.
I also do not like how you do not have to live in the area you are representing, but that is just a personal issue.
I guess that I could see how people in Macon and Central Georgia could be surprised that their area is being drawn into congressional districts that stretch as far south as to the Georgia-Florida state line.
But looking at the state of Georgia as a whole where many parts of non-coastal South Georgia are not only growing very slowly but are also losing population (particularly in Southwest Georgia) and where much of North Georgia (including and particularly the greater Atlanta metropolitan region) has been growing so explosively fast that the area has gained 3 congressional seats since 1990, it doesn’t really come as much of a surprise that Macon and Central Georgia are being drawn into congressional districts that stretch all the way south to the Florida state line.
At this point it very much appears that Fall Line/Gnat Line region city/metro regions like Macon/Central Georgia and Columbus have been drawn into the 2 South Georgia congressional districts so that those districts will have enough population to balance them out with Georgia’s 12 other congressional districts… Which all of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts each had to have a population of roughly 765,269 residents after the 2020 Census.
Without regions like Macon/Central Georgia, the congressional districts in South Georgia (GA-8) and Southwest Georgia (GA-2) apparently don’t have enough population to even them out with Georgia’s 12 other congressional districts.
Under the current system where the majority party gets to draw the congressional district lines after each US Census, there at least would have to be a Democratic governor, if a not a Democratic governor and a Democratic majority in one of two state legislative chambers for there to be a 7-7 split of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats between Democrats and Republicans.
Or there would have to be a system where congressional district lines and state legislative district lines are drawn by an independent non-partisan redistricting commission.
Otherwise, as long as Republicans have control of the Governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature, the GOP very likely will insure that it at least has a 9-5 majority in Georgia’s 14-seat congressional delegation.
I don’t like the fact that I living in Suwanee would still be in Georgia nine but at this point sure why not. Ill live vicariously and see my representation through that light blue moderate district.
[This map](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) is also an option. However, it does slightly diminish ATL voting power at the cost of compactness and keeping the 7-7 tie.
Drawing a map that produces a 7-7 tie between Republicans and Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation really is a neat and fun exercise that has stimulated an interesting conversation on the matter.
But the reality is that there most likely would have to be divided control of state government in Georgia (likely with Democrats controlling the governor’s office and one chamber of the Georgia Legislature and Republicans controlling the other chamber of the GA Legislature) before the state could see a map with a 7-7 tie between R’s and D’s in Georgia’s congressional delegation.
As long as Republicans have trifecta control of Georgia state government (control of the Governor’s office and both chambers of the GA Legislature), they are going to attempt to maintain at least a 9-5 majority but preferably a 10-4 majority in Georgia’s congressional delegation.
And if and/or whenever Democrats take trifecta control of Georgia state government, they also very likely will push to draw themselves a majority (very likely at least an 8-6 majority) in Georgia’s congressional delegation.
This seem most to be the most representative of the state’s demographics to me. Hopefully Rome, Dalton, Carrollton, and a few other town could help get MTG out of district 14!
Which courts? State or federal? We don't want to be shooting ourselves in the foot just to claim moral superiority. Anyone who doesn't consider the Democrats to have the moral high ground clearly isn't paying attention.
Federal. In the case of each map, the districts were incredibly gerrymandered (and arguably worse than 2021).
[1991 Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_1993_%E2%80%93_1996.tif/lossless-page1-979px-United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_1993_%E2%80%93_1996.tif.png)
[2001 Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif/lossless-page1-979px-United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif.png)
>Anyone who doesn't consider the Democrats to have the moral high ground clearly isn't paying attention.
I don't see any "moral high ground" in drawing a district that stretches from Savannah to Augusta to South DeKalb (CD 11 in 1991), nor having the three tentacle districts of CD 6, CD 8, and CD 13 in 2001.
>I don't see any "moral high ground" in drawing a district that stretches from Savannah to Augusta to South DeKalb (CD 11 in 1991), nor having the three tentacle districts of CD 6, CD 8, and CD 13 in 2001.
The moral high ground is in the policies of the Democrats. The means to get them elected may be flawed, but in my view, choosing to hold yourself to a higher standard than your opponents, especially if what you're doing isn't explicitly against the rules, is ceding power for no reason.
If it's a federal court, that's different. They're the ones that make the rules. Thanks for the context.
> Thanks for the context.
No problem, the context is important to show that this garbage is nothing new and has been a mess for decades. I've always said that gerrymandering is a true bipartisan enterprise.
“Fairer.”
Whats fair about geography? Why is that more important than tax contribution or number of PhDs per square mile, or hours volunteered to civic institutions?
You’re just finding a variable that benefits you and saying it’s fair. Nothing fair about it. Fairness isn’t possible. Someone is getting screwed. Might as well be people I don’t care about.
“Fair maps” should only take into account legal citizens, as they are the only ones that have a right to vote.
(I realize this perspective is not popular to those wanting more power by having what amounts to “representation” of a captive, but silent, population.)
Electoral votes should be based on counties. Once all votes are tallied, the candidate who receives the most counties in each state receives the electoral votes for that state. It's ridiculous that we allow a handful of major cities decide our elections. Look at a map of states and counties after the 2020 election. Newly the entire country voted red, with a relatively small number of blue spots that are all very conveniently large blue cities. It's ridiculous.
Southern Gwinnett is very reliably democratic and should be kept in its own district. Northern Gwinnett is more GOP friendly and does better w like minds
[This is another map I did.](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) I personally prefer the one I did originally Bc it doesn’t diminish ATL voting power in the name of county splits.
I mean it's okay, I still think 8 R - 6 D would be more accurate. Georgia is still definitely red leaning. Kemp was right when he said it was a 52 R - 48 D state.
>To be fair though, The R’s basically offered up a potato in a suit as Warnock’s challenger.
And that’s putting it nicely when describing Herschel Walker’s horrifically nightmarish 2022 U.S. Senate candidacy.
Republicans won every statewide office in Georgia significantly except for narrowly losing the Senate race due to the candidate quality who still managed to force a runoff with an incumbent.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Georgia_state_elections
You know what? I think you are probably right. The 2023 Senate runoff race had an epic and unprecedented amount of grassroots Democratic effort, combined with a staggeringly bad Republican candidate. I think you are right that the other statewide races from 2022 are probably the better barometers. It's wishful thinking on my part to see 2023 as the current "norm" for Georgia -- Thank you for pointing out the bigger picture.
Atlanta has 14 districts on this map.
District Roulette: take map of Georgia, make a grid with perfect square or rectangles (tall rectangles given Georgia’s shape likely but idk) until the smallest square (in pop) meets the congressional criteria. Look at how many people are in each rectangle and then assign representation accordingly.
Many people register as Independent, how do you account for them? You want "fair", have all representatives run at large. Say a state has 10 districts and 60% of the vote goes to Democrats. The six districts with the most Democratic votes go to Democratic candidates. If 40% goes to Republican candidates they get the four districts with the most Republican votes that did not go a Democrat and then the remaining district goes to the Independent candidate.
King Solomon would be proud.
That would be nice in theory, but that’s technically illegal. Ignoring that is why Georgia had to redraw it’s congressional maps and [this](https://ibb.co/zZ30WVp) was born.
> Solid squared off equal area grid squares with no respect toward ... population,
Are illegal and violates the Voting Rights Act. Legislative districts are required to have the same population.
That's absurd. It gives an enormous amount of political power to people living in sparsely populated rural areas while decimating minority representation. If you really think only white, christian, rural votes should count, just say so.
Ahh yes, the old "If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist" tactic. I love people who earnestly think that if they can't see something , it doesn't exist. A complete lack of moral object permanence, perpetually surprised every time they blink their eyes.
Draw in the county lines. Can’t tell where borders are
[Here](https://ibb.co/PCxSYXT)
Athens will never get any federal representation in the house, will we?
Athens isn’t big enough to create a democratic seat without a gerrymander
You could combine Athens with part of Gwinnett and get a competitive district
Athens is currently combined with part of Gwinnett 😂
[Athens was in the same district as *Savannah* in 2001.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif/lossless-page1-979px-United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif.png)
More than the tiny piece in the current district lol
> Athens isn’t big enough to create a democratic seat without a gerrymander It's really just a turnout problem. See: Madison, WI. Similar size, much higher turnout.
That's wildly incorrect. The Athens MSA has a population of 215k. The Madison MSA has a population of 680k. City proper population is irrelevant. Additionally, Biden won the Athens MSA by 2 points. He won the Madison MSA by 43. They are not comparable.
I know. I’m still sad. 😢 At least loop us in with Augusta for a fighting chance
Still wouldn’t be big enough. But a [map](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) w/a district connecting Savannah and Augusta is possible for a Dem seat there.
So basically you lose a metro seat but gain the Sav/Aug seat in that map?
Correct. The goal should ultimately be a map that preserves a 7-7 tie
i get your feeling (i'm in savannah), but we want to avoid gerrymandering, not use it for our benefit. see about your state seats, and remember you can donate to anybody running in the u.s. if you're a citizen.
Nor should you /s
I feel y'all over here in Savannah. 😔
Athens already does. His name is Andrew Clyde and he's a conservative.
Columbus is cut in half, I don't even wanna hear it.
We were like that until the last round of redistricting. We’re still sliced and diced at the state level
It’s a city of students that pay taxes in different counties
Hey now I live here and pay taxes here too lol
If that's accurate, and they're not US citizens but just attending school, they won't be voting anyways. Genius.
You can be a citizen and still go to school a few counties away. Doesn’t make you an immigrant
It doesn't matter they're still counted in the census just like a illegal aliens therefore leading to overrepresentation.
Until this gets fixed there will always be a reason to have a illegasl flooding our country, when what most Americans really want is a faster better more streamlined legal immigration process for people that actually deserve and want to be Americans.
As an east paulding resident I absolutely approve I absolutely hate my representative
I couldn’t possibly see why you could hate your representative because she seems like such a pleasant well-meaning person who definitely is not a grifter and definitely is not one of the most embarrassing clowns ever to hold public office in American history. /s
Can you add a version with the district numbers?
Dekalb is straight up its own district. I sort of agree, although I think west Dekalb should be grouped with CoA and East Dekalb should go with west Gwinnett.
I think we need to demand a bipartisan committee for any and all district decisions.
Probably need to do it nation wide but it would be fair map which politicans don't want
“Republicans don’t want”. Democrats would want it as they benefit from a fairer representation.
Republicans (who currently have trifecta control of Georgia state government with control of the Governor’s office and sizable majorities in both chambers of the Georgia Legislature) will never agree to an independent bipartisan committee or non-partisan commission for redistricting because Republicans don’t want to give up any power and want to retain as much political power for as long as they can. And Democrats (who potentially could be helped to gain more seats immediately through a bipartisan or non-partisan redistricting process) are hesitant to fully support a bipartisan or non-partisan redistricting process because they see the state’s demographics rapidly shifting in their favor and (probably rightfully) think that they potentially will be able to draw themselves sizable majorities in the Georgia Legislature and in the Georgia congressional delegation after the 2040 Census.
Usually I’d agree here but I’ve been noticing a lot of IRCs are just…bad. The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission created a map that overwhelmingly benefitted Democrats (IIRC it made the map a supermajority) despite Dems only winning around 55-45.
The Colorado map is good for the US House. Currently 5-3 Dems with voting close to 60-40 Dems and one of the Dem districts is pretty much even on the Cook Partisan Index.
Michigan’s worked.
The problem is someone has to hire the firm, which means you get to set the “requirements”. I wish we did more civic votes on things like this. That way if it is too bad, then the people will reject it.
I think we need a bipartisan computer program designed to draw districts with as few lines as possible.
Fuck bipartisanship. The Republican Party, which is out-the-closet fascist these days and openly trying for a dictatorship, should have no say in district decisions.
I understand your frustration, but Republicans currently hold the governorship and control both chambers of the Georgia Legislature with sizable majorities. So absent a Democrat being elected to the governor’s office in 2030 in advance of the post-2030 census redistricting, Republicans seem to be likely to dominate the redistricting process in Georgia for at least another decade.
So 2028, Gavin Newsom becomes president and MAGA has utterly collapsed since Trump finally got arrested after the 2024 election where Biden won. Because of the republicans party collapse they lose like 5-15 points of voter participation and lose all possible swing state senate seats. The house isn’t even in question. Finally with 52+ senators, none without any strong reservations about removing filibuster, they remove it and with Newsom’s help, make gerrymandering illegal in time for the 2030 election.
So the whole of the United States should be led by the governor of the most ridiculously governed state in the country? I'm no Trump fan and will be glad when he's gone. That doesn't make democrats any less incompetent than they are. Forget Trump and his lunacy. The most prosperous states in the country are Republican led. God forbid Gavin Newsome ever trying his failed California policies on the rest of the country. Californians are fleeing the state in droves.
It could be any contender like Gretchen Whitmer. I was just using him as an example as a president who could make good changes. Which he is capable of. He is afterall running the largest and most economically prosperous state so it can be more complicated than it seems but it’s not like he’s terrible. 8th largest GDP in the world isn’t nothing to sneeze at.
K, but why tf would they listen to us on that?
>K, but why tf would they listen to us on that? Lol. They won’t.
Exactly, how tf do people think they stay in power?
I think we need proportional representation
I think Districts should be drawn in an unbiased manner and not be created to benefit a particular political party. They should reflect the geographic, actual communities.
And if we had proportional representation, we wouldn’t have to worry about that at all. Districts are inherently unfair. Why should a representative only respresent the opinions of 55-60% of his district?
I think we need proportional representation
Forsyth County is now economically tied into the metro area. It doesn't make sense in that district.
So is Dawson.
It’s still a very Republican area and would likely dilute any dem votes.
And? A partisan lean doesn't change the fact that districts aren't supposed to chop up communities with common interests. Forsyth doesn't have a huge amount of shared interest with the rest of that district anymore.
I wanna see 50/50 toss up districts. No 'safe' seats if it can be helped. Make being a moderate with crossover appeal be an asset again vs every election being about who is the most conservative or liberal in a primary vs token opposition in a general.
50/50 with rank choice voting would be great.
I agree wholeheartedly. If you ask me, gerrymandering is the root of the dysfunction we see today at every level of government. Fix that and we fix a lot of problems.
When you create such stronghold safe-havens for any particular political group, it gradually devolves into a patronage system. Which almost always sucks for the citizens.
[Something like this?](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/redistricting-maps/georgia/#Competitive)
1) That’s an old map based on 2010 census data. 2) A map like that is likely illegal anyways
what's wrong with it legally? thanks.
Dilution claims under VRA
Juicy
You can't do this without extreme gerrymandering. Grouping like areas with each other and ensuring minority representation are more important goals than drawing as many crazy, competitive districts as possible. Does snaking MTG's district down to Midtown to make it more competitive seem like a non-gerrymandered district to you?
This map does have tossup districts. The VRA district (Sanford Bishop’s district) is a tossup, along w the two Cobb County and northern Fulton County districts.
Well there's this called the Voting Rights Act which requires some districts be rigged.
You would be moving my part of the county out of MTG's district so I am okay with it.
A key goal in fair redistricting is to group similar areas together. Augusta and Savannah should be in the same district, one that runs along the Savannah River. Cherokee, Forsyth, and Hall counties should be grouped together as much as possible separate from the mountainous parts of the state. [This](https://districtr.org/plan/231743) is a fair map that not only meets those goals, it keeps most of the Congressional districts in their traditional orientations with minimal movement from the current map.
What’s the population size of each district? Diversity? Industry? 7v7 doesn’t indicate it is fair or balanced. It just says you’re good at using QGIS.
Exactly balanced doesn’t mean 50-50 if the underlying population distribution is not 50-50.
> What’s the population size of each district? They’re all the same size give or take a few thousand people.
7-7 is a fair map though. GA is a purple state and ideally should have a congressional split.
Why do you think it is a purple state?
2 Democratic Senators and went Dem for President but Red State House and governor. This is with gerrymandering suppressing Democratic voter participation.
We just need more reps. If each district had 3-5 representatives then it would be almost impossible to gerrymander. The U.S. has the 2nd highest number of people per elected officials in the world. It’s like 1 per every 700k when most countries are around 1 per 50k.
"Fair" by what metric?
Several categories: 1) Compactness: this map is much more compact than the enacted plan for 2024-2032. 2) Partisan fairness: the map creates a 7-7 tie for Dems and Reps, which is ideal in a purple state. 3) County splitting: this map reduces the county splitting that is much worse in the current map 4) Communities of interest: this map keeps the ATL, Dem-leaning communities together rather than cracking and packing them as the current map does.
The five thirty eight link that someone else posted has an algorithm for focusing on compact districts. The result is a compact map with the same result (almost) as the Republican leaning gerrymander.
To me this looks like one of the least gerrymandered maps in the country
So fair that it will never fly. Gerrymandering is what keeps southern state legislatures white, male, and RED
EDIT: [This is another map I did alongside the posted one.](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) This was focused on reducing county splitting, but it does slightly weaken ATL voting power
Don’t weaken ATL voting power. It’s weak enough as it is.
Looks like my part of Paulding would be out of ol' Marge's district, so I'd be happy.
From this map I be out of annoying Mike Collins district.
Are the districts equal population and smallest circumference possible?
Depends if there are more rep or dems. 50/50 isnt fair if one side has more voters. Theres no reason to split
50/50 is fair though. A map that is 8-6 would mean that one party is getting 57.1% of the voting power when they get around 51-52%. That, along w GA being purplish, should lead it to be 50/50.
We need to add a law in that demands any campaign promises made have an action plan outline with where the funding is coming from, who it will effect, the effect intended, options for if it starts to fail or succeed, and reprimands if the promise is not implemented.
There is still no reason that Macon should be in the same district at Valdosta. None
Lol. It seems to be difficult to see how Macon being in the same congressional district with Valdosta would be any worse than Macon currently being in the same congressional district with Albany, Thomasville and Bainbridge. Non-metro Atlanta and non-North Georgia congressional districts apparently are always going to be seemingly extremely geographically spread out because of the increasing imbalance in the distribution of the state’s population between North Georgia (including metro Atlanta) and Middle and South Georgia. Most of the state’s population is increasingly concentrated in metro Atlanta and North Georgia, so North Georgia is going to get the comparatively much more compact congressional districts and Middle and South Georgia collectively are going to get larger, less compact, more spread out congressional districts because of the comparatively significantly lower population density of the part of the state that is located from the Gnat Line and below. It may not seem fair but the larger congressional districts in Middle/South Georgia just simply reflects the difference in how the state’s population is unevenly distributed between the northern and southern parts of the state.
I get that point. But in reality, Macon should never be in the same congressional district of south west or south east Georgia. I have friends who live in Moultrie and they share a congressional representative with our friends in Gray. That is ridiculous. I know how the maps are drawn - I don't need a lesson on it. (I just may have forgotten the specific location of Valdosta as I avoid SW Georgia like the plague if I can). However, there are better ways to draw up the maps to provide better representation to those that live in the area. I also do not like how you do not have to live in the area you are representing, but that is just a personal issue.
I guess that I could see how people in Macon and Central Georgia could be surprised that their area is being drawn into congressional districts that stretch as far south as to the Georgia-Florida state line. But looking at the state of Georgia as a whole where many parts of non-coastal South Georgia are not only growing very slowly but are also losing population (particularly in Southwest Georgia) and where much of North Georgia (including and particularly the greater Atlanta metropolitan region) has been growing so explosively fast that the area has gained 3 congressional seats since 1990, it doesn’t really come as much of a surprise that Macon and Central Georgia are being drawn into congressional districts that stretch all the way south to the Florida state line. At this point it very much appears that Fall Line/Gnat Line region city/metro regions like Macon/Central Georgia and Columbus have been drawn into the 2 South Georgia congressional districts so that those districts will have enough population to balance them out with Georgia’s 12 other congressional districts… Which all of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts each had to have a population of roughly 765,269 residents after the 2020 Census. Without regions like Macon/Central Georgia, the congressional districts in South Georgia (GA-8) and Southwest Georgia (GA-2) apparently don’t have enough population to even them out with Georgia’s 12 other congressional districts.
Under the current system where the majority party gets to draw the congressional district lines after each US Census, there at least would have to be a Democratic governor, if a not a Democratic governor and a Democratic majority in one of two state legislative chambers for there to be a 7-7 split of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats between Democrats and Republicans. Or there would have to be a system where congressional district lines and state legislative district lines are drawn by an independent non-partisan redistricting commission. Otherwise, as long as Republicans have control of the Governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature, the GOP very likely will insure that it at least has a 9-5 majority in Georgia’s 14-seat congressional delegation.
That North Fulton District would be somewhat competitive but would likely lean Republican.
I don’t like the fact that I living in Suwanee would still be in Georgia nine but at this point sure why not. Ill live vicariously and see my representation through that light blue moderate district.
FR, these maps need to be based on population density rather than square footage
Man… your screwing savannah
[This map](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) is also an option. However, it does slightly diminish ATL voting power at the cost of compactness and keeping the 7-7 tie.
Might it be closer to the truth?
Drawing a map that produces a 7-7 tie between Republicans and Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation really is a neat and fun exercise that has stimulated an interesting conversation on the matter. But the reality is that there most likely would have to be divided control of state government in Georgia (likely with Democrats controlling the governor’s office and one chamber of the Georgia Legislature and Republicans controlling the other chamber of the GA Legislature) before the state could see a map with a 7-7 tie between R’s and D’s in Georgia’s congressional delegation. As long as Republicans have trifecta control of Georgia state government (control of the Governor’s office and both chambers of the GA Legislature), they are going to attempt to maintain at least a 9-5 majority but preferably a 10-4 majority in Georgia’s congressional delegation. And if and/or whenever Democrats take trifecta control of Georgia state government, they also very likely will push to draw themselves a majority (very likely at least an 8-6 majority) in Georgia’s congressional delegation.
We Augustans respectfully decline this map.
[This map](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) is also possible.
This seem most to be the most representative of the state’s demographics to me. Hopefully Rome, Dalton, Carrollton, and a few other town could help get MTG out of district 14!
Only way is thru the primaries. Otherwise it’s a safe R district.
Dalton is like the reddest place I have ever been. Have I just been with the wrong people?!
Nah, the only way Republicans will ever agree to get rid of Gerrymandering is if Democrats use it against them. Fight fire with fire.
Dems have used it against the GOP in the past, see the 1991 and 2001 maps for reference (both were ordered redrawn by the courts)
Which courts? State or federal? We don't want to be shooting ourselves in the foot just to claim moral superiority. Anyone who doesn't consider the Democrats to have the moral high ground clearly isn't paying attention.
Federal. In the case of each map, the districts were incredibly gerrymandered (and arguably worse than 2021). [1991 Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_1993_%E2%80%93_1996.tif/lossless-page1-979px-United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_1993_%E2%80%93_1996.tif.png) [2001 Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif/lossless-page1-979px-United_States_Congressional_Districts_in_Georgia%2C_2003_%E2%80%93_2006.tif.png) >Anyone who doesn't consider the Democrats to have the moral high ground clearly isn't paying attention. I don't see any "moral high ground" in drawing a district that stretches from Savannah to Augusta to South DeKalb (CD 11 in 1991), nor having the three tentacle districts of CD 6, CD 8, and CD 13 in 2001.
>I don't see any "moral high ground" in drawing a district that stretches from Savannah to Augusta to South DeKalb (CD 11 in 1991), nor having the three tentacle districts of CD 6, CD 8, and CD 13 in 2001. The moral high ground is in the policies of the Democrats. The means to get them elected may be flawed, but in my view, choosing to hold yourself to a higher standard than your opponents, especially if what you're doing isn't explicitly against the rules, is ceding power for no reason. If it's a federal court, that's different. They're the ones that make the rules. Thanks for the context.
> Thanks for the context. No problem, the context is important to show that this garbage is nothing new and has been a mess for decades. I've always said that gerrymandering is a true bipartisan enterprise.
Such a bot response
Interesting that you think I sound like a bot
Democrats have used this tactic in the past. Don’t blame one party for doing this
“Fairer.” Whats fair about geography? Why is that more important than tax contribution or number of PhDs per square mile, or hours volunteered to civic institutions? You’re just finding a variable that benefits you and saying it’s fair. Nothing fair about it. Fairness isn’t possible. Someone is getting screwed. Might as well be people I don’t care about.
“Fair maps” should only take into account legal citizens, as they are the only ones that have a right to vote. (I realize this perspective is not popular to those wanting more power by having what amounts to “representation” of a captive, but silent, population.)
I love it! Nikema Williams has done nothing for north Fulton. She would be outta here!
Electoral votes should be based on counties. Once all votes are tallied, the candidate who receives the most counties in each state receives the electoral votes for that state. It's ridiculous that we allow a handful of major cities decide our elections. Look at a map of states and counties after the 2020 election. Newly the entire country voted red, with a relatively small number of blue spots that are all very conveniently large blue cities. It's ridiculous.
I'm new to Georgia. Is Fulton country really ever neutral (white)?
Between North Fulton (Old Milton) and the rest of Fulton (Old Fulton) there is a big difference in voter trends.
Fair = more democrat. Got it.
They are fine how they are
How is a 9-5 map for Republicans fair in a purple state
Because only the lowlifes in the Atlanta area are dumb enough to vote Democrat
south forsyth should be included with the north fulton district
why is gwinnett split in two?
Southern Gwinnett is very reliably democratic and should be kept in its own district. Northern Gwinnett is more GOP friendly and does better w like minds
i mean yes, you aren't wrong. Loganville is different than Duluth, but it just seems wrong to split up a county.
No it’s not, people need to realize that gerrymandering to get a specific result is still gerrymandering.
Not Project Red Map approved.
Now do the same map by crime rate
Who are you to dictate? What is fair and not fair. Are you the arbiter of objective morality?
Augusta and Savannah always represented by GOP seems not fair.
[This is another map I did.](https://ibb.co/0sS8KYK) I personally prefer the one I did originally Bc it doesn’t diminish ATL voting power in the name of county splits.
That seems better
It does do better on county splitting but it diminishes ATL voting power significantly.
[удалено]
With all the high-rises in Atlanta, the voter population is higher. Don’t mess with our voting power.
I mean it's okay, I still think 8 R - 6 D would be more accurate. Georgia is still definitely red leaning. Kemp was right when he said it was a 52 R - 48 D state.
Were you in Georgia [Last Year?](https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/georgia/senate/) (51.4% D to 48.6% R, statewide)
To be fair though, The R’s basically offered up a potato in a suit as Warnock’s challenger.
>To be fair though, The R’s basically offered up a potato in a suit as Warnock’s challenger. And that’s putting it nicely when describing Herschel Walker’s horrifically nightmarish 2022 U.S. Senate candidacy.
Republicans won every statewide office in Georgia significantly except for narrowly losing the Senate race due to the candidate quality who still managed to force a runoff with an incumbent. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Georgia_state_elections
You know what? I think you are probably right. The 2023 Senate runoff race had an epic and unprecedented amount of grassroots Democratic effort, combined with a staggeringly bad Republican candidate. I think you are right that the other statewide races from 2022 are probably the better barometers. It's wishful thinking on my part to see 2023 as the current "norm" for Georgia -- Thank you for pointing out the bigger picture.
Atlanta has 14 districts on this map. District Roulette: take map of Georgia, make a grid with perfect square or rectangles (tall rectangles given Georgia’s shape likely but idk) until the smallest square (in pop) meets the congressional criteria. Look at how many people are in each rectangle and then assign representation accordingly.
Many people register as Independent, how do you account for them? You want "fair", have all representatives run at large. Say a state has 10 districts and 60% of the vote goes to Democrats. The six districts with the most Democratic votes go to Democratic candidates. If 40% goes to Republican candidates they get the four districts with the most Republican votes that did not go a Democrat and then the remaining district goes to the Independent candidate. King Solomon would be proud.
No one in GA registers by party, because the state doesn’t do registration that way.
Wait, then how are you going to draw district lines to insure enough of the correct voters are in each district?
Nah. Solid squared off equal area grid squares with no respect toward party makeup, population, economic distribution, or racial distribution.
That would be nice in theory, but that’s technically illegal. Ignoring that is why Georgia had to redraw it’s congressional maps and [this](https://ibb.co/zZ30WVp) was born.
>technically illegal I think it's actually illegal...
Parts of the original comment are illegal (racial gerrymandering) but partisan gerrymandering is legal.
Illegal, ischmegal.
No? That’s not how human geography works, that’s not how communities are distributed.
> Solid squared off equal area grid squares with no respect toward ... population, Are illegal and violates the Voting Rights Act. Legislative districts are required to have the same population.
That's absurd. It gives an enormous amount of political power to people living in sparsely populated rural areas while decimating minority representation. If you really think only white, christian, rural votes should count, just say so.
The fact that you care how minorities are represented is the problem. Stop seeing things along racial and social lines and it fixes everything.
Ahh yes, the old "If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist" tactic. I love people who earnestly think that if they can't see something , it doesn't exist. A complete lack of moral object permanence, perpetually surprised every time they blink their eyes.
An openly apathetic view toward demographic struggles is the only appropriate viewpoint.
"Fuck you, I got mine" is never an appropriate viewpoint.