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Supreme Court Ruling Spurs Georgia Special Session, Voting Rights Bill

5/17/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling spurred Southern legislatures to accelerate redistricting plans that protect Black voting power.
Governor Brian Kemp called a Georgia special session to redraw congressional maps before the 2028 elections, beginning next week.
Democratic Georgia candidates, including former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, proposed a state Voting Rights Act banning map cracking and creating an independent commission.

History

Historical Context

The Voting Rights Act, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, outlawed literacy tests and required federal preclearance, protecting roughly 2.5 million Black voters in 13 states and two jurisdictions. Decades later, the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County ruling and the 2026 Louisiana v. Callais decision have eroded those safeguards, prompting Governor Brian Kemp’s special session and renewed litigation over map-cracking.

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Story summary

Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling spurred Southern legislatures to accelerate redistricting plans that protect Black voting power.
Governor Brian Kemp called a Georgia special session to redraw congressional maps before the 2028 elections, beginning next week.
Democratic Georgia candidates, including former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, proposed a state Voting Rights Act banning map cracking and creating an independent commission.

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