GOP Gerrymanders In Georgia In Attempt To Get Veto-Proof Majority

Well, Republicans are at it again, subverting democracy simply to make sure they expand their power. It’s not a new tactic and it uses the same old tool of mid-decade redistricting and it’s happening not because they are afraid of losing the majority but because they are trying to get a veto-proof majority in the state legislature. The state is Georgia.

Right now the House in the Georgia state legislature is dominated by Republicans by a margin of 118-62, which is just shy of the veto-proof majority of two-thirds. This attempt at redistricting is just another blatant attempt to rig the electoral system in their favor. This gerrymander was rammed through House late last week and will soon pass the GOP dominated Senate and then probably be signed by Governor Nathan Deal.

As usual with these GOP gerrymanders, it is designed to reduce the power of the minority vote as eight Republican districts and one Democratic district has been redrawn. If this gerrymander does become law, you can expect a raft of legal challenges to it.

It seems like the GOP changes the ground rules for virtually every election these days, either redrawing districts every few years or instituting new voter suppression rules. Yes, Democrats have only themselves to blame in some ways for letting the GOP dominate so many legislatures. But, that being said, these extreme gerrymanders have become so egregious that the number of Democratic seats the party wins is far less than the actual percentage of votes it receives. And that is no longer real democracy; it is a managed democracy.

The hope for Democrats in the short term is that the Supreme Court will have finally had enough of the GOP constantly rigging the democratic process and put some rules around the frequency and extremity of these gerrymanders. Yes, it’s pretty sad when we have to rely on the Supreme Court, but that’s where we’re at.