Georgia’s Republican House Speaker Jon Burns blocked a redistricting special session on June 17, 2026, rejecting Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan to redraw both congressional and state legislative district maps.
Burns sent Kemp a letter hours before the session was set to begin, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. That decision struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander and created unsettled legal standards for how race can factor into drawing district lines. Burns also pointed to active litigation over Georgia’s existing maps, saying lawmakers needed to understand the full legal implications before acting.
10 states have already enacted new congressional districts ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
Georgia would have been the first state to redraw maps for the 2028 cycle, and the first anywhere to redraw state legislative districts. President Trump has publicly urged Republican-led states to use redistricting to strengthen their congressional majorities.
Why Republican Leaders Paused, and What They Said
Burns told Kemp that lawmakers should focus on economic priorities rather than what he called “partisan games.” He did not rule out returning to redistricting later in 2026.
Republican legislators also expressed private concerns on two fronts: that a rushed redistricting plan diminishing Black and minority voters’ political power could generate a public backlash, and that newly drawn districts around the Atlanta metro area could become more competitive, giving Democrats pickup opportunities.
Civil rights leaders and progressive activists filled the Georgia Capitol as the blocked session unfolded, chanting “Black voters matter.” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who ministers at the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Once preached, compared the prospect of eliminating majority-minority districts to a rollback of the gains that produced the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The Capitol complex itself includes a statue of King, whose movement was centered blocks from the building.
The Callais ruling created the legal opening that Kemp and Trump sought to exploit. It signaled that some majority-minority districts drawn to comply with the Voting Rights Act could now be challenged as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, effectively reversing the legal logic that protected minority representation. Georgia’s existing maps already face active litigation, meaning any future redistricting would arrive in court immediately.
What You Can Do Now
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Call the Georgia General Assembly switchboard at (404) 656-5000 and ask your state representative and state senator to oppose any redistricting plan that reduces majority-minority districts. Ask them to commit to public hearings with community input before any vote is called.
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Call U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff at (202) 224-3521 and ask him to co-sponsor federal legislation restoring Section 5 preclearance requirements under the Voting Rights Act. Georgia was a covered state under preclearance before the Supreme Court gutted it in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013.
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Submit testimony to the Georgia General Assembly if lawmakers schedule redistricting hearings later this year. Track scheduled hearings and find your district at legis.ga.gov. Written testimony submitted before votes is part of the official legislative record.
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Find Georgia-specific redistricting legal challenges through the NAACP Legal Defense Fund at naacpldf.org/case-issue/redistricting to see how to support active litigation over the state’s existing congressional and legislative maps.
Sources
- I’ve spent decades fighting for fair elections. Trump is setting the stage for a grim November | David Walbert — Guardian US Politics (2026-06-17)
- Indiana AG seeks execution date for death row inmate convicted in 2010 killings of two children — Indiana Capital Chronicle (2026-06-17)
- Headlines for June 17, 2026 — Democracy Now (2026-06-17)
Mississippi Today: Georgia Republican Leaders Reject Kemp’s Redistricting Special Session Call Brennan Center for Justice: Louisiana v. Callais Decision and Racial Redistricting Standards Brennan Center for Justice: Voting Rights Act Section 5 Preclearance History and Restoration NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Georgia Redistricting Litigation Tracker AP: Protesters Fill Georgia Capitol as Redistricting Special Session Is Blocked