Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject Gov. Brian Kemp’s call for special session on 2028 redistricting

Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday rejected Gov. Brian Kemp’s request for a special session focused on drawing new congressional and state legislative districts for 2028, arguing that the Legislature should not move quickly after a U.S. Supreme Court decision that, in their view, reduced federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters.

Kemp had called for the special session to begin redistricting work for 2028, according to PBS NewsHour Politics. The legislative leaders’ refusal means the redistricting effort will not be handled through the timetable Kemp proposed for that narrowly targeted session, and it leaves open how and when the Legislature will address district lines for the next cycle.

The lawmakers said their concern centers on the post-decision legal and procedural landscape for race-conscious districting and Voting Rights Act compliance. They characterized the Supreme Court ruling as having weakened certain federal protections that are typically used to assess whether election maps dilute the voting power of minority groups.

Redistricting in Georgia must be conducted under state law and is often subject to multiple layers of review, including federal Voting Rights Act scrutiny. In their statement rejecting a rapid special-session approach, the Republican leaders said they needed more time to ensure any maps comply with the legal constraints that now govern the Voting Rights Act in light of the Supreme Court decision.

The dispute highlights the tension that can arise in state redistricting when federal courts and the Supreme Court reshape the standards that states are expected to follow. While states control map-drawing, the Voting Rights Act provides a federal enforcement framework, and decisions from the Supreme Court can alter how that framework is applied.

Kemp’s proposal, as described in the report, sought to address 2028 districting earlier than it otherwise might occur. By declining to convene a special session specifically for redistricting, the legislative leadership effectively pushed back the political and administrative timeline for any expedited redrawing process that Kemp was advocating.

The PBS report did not indicate that the Legislature abandoned redistricting altogether, only that it declined the governor’s request for a special session centered on the task. Under Georgia’s usual process, districting timing generally follows legislative calendars and statutory deadlines, with the possibility of additional litigation continuing to shape what maps lawmakers can adopt.