Political Rewind: Lawmakers Prepare To Redraw District Maps And Georgians Plea For Fair Process
Wednesday on Political Rewind:\xa0With census data available to state legislators, preparations for the upcoming reapportionment special session can begin. We spoke to\xa0a member of the Georgia House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee to hear what they learned from listening sessions across Georgia.\n\nDuring those sessions, the public shared how they\xa0like to see the process of drawing new maps unfold. Analysis from Georgia News Lab and GPB News showed a\xa0majority said they would like to see fairness employed when redrawing legislative districts.\xa0Two hundred eighty-nine people participated in\xa010 hearings across the state.\n\nThe reapportionment committee held input sessions over the past several months. Benny Hand, a resident of\xa0Albany, Ga., said he did not want to see Dougherty County\xa0communities split up and their political power diluted.\n\n"I hope this process does not lend credence to the often-repeated statement that, 'My vote doesn't count because they will do what they want to do,'"\xa0Hand said during the July 27 committee meeting in Albany.\n\nMeanwhile, the new surge of COVID-19 cases pushed Georgia to an alarming milestone: The state Department of Public Health reports the state has passed 1 million verified cases. Our panel will look at how Gov. Brian Kemp and public health officials are responding to the spread.\n\nPanelists:\n\nRep. Mary Margaret Oliver\xa0\u2014 State representative (D-Decatur)\n\nRep. Chuck Efstration \u2014 State representative (R-Dacula)\n\nDr. Adrienne Jones \u2014\xa0Political science professor and\xa0director of pre-law, Morehouse College\n\nGreg Bluestein \u2014 Political reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution