Letters: Readers label Georgia redistricting process as gerrymandering

Savannah Morning News
·2 min read

Georgia Republicans masters of gerrymandering

In an op-ed published Dec. 1, Georgia House Rep. Jesse Petrea made a sales pitch for the new gerrymandered Georgia legislative districts using Sen. Ben Watson's district as an example. Poor choice. He deemed the districts "logical, compact and contiguous", but his district lumps Tybee and the suburban islands of Savannah with Midway, Hinesville, and even Pembroke.

In another district a strip of Chatham County was snipped off and combined with Statesboro and Metter. Savannah is left as an island stripped of its ties to the rest of Chatham County.

Sen. Watson has chimed in calling this "keeping counties whole, maintaining communities of interest." The only way to get from one end of his district to the other is by boat across county lines.

The interest served is partisanship for incumbents. They're safe from effective elective challenge.

Bob Morgan, Savannah

Redistricting will give Republicans an advantage in U.S. House, Georgia House and Georgia Senate elections over the next decade.
Redistricting will give Republicans an advantage in U.S. House, Georgia House and Georgia Senate elections over the next decade.

Rep. Ron Stephens on redistricting: Redistricting upheld values of fairness and community

Sen. Lester Jackson on redistricting: Redistricting was an unfair, Republican-led disaster

Voting rights advocate on redistricting: Whiplash redistricting process gerrymanders Georgia in GOP's favor

Van Brimmer on redistricting: Georgia Republicans use a 20-year-old redistricting sin to justify gerrymandering

Echoing calls for independent redistricting panel

What does it mean when one political party uses its control over redistricting to thwart our nation’s founding principles? It means that many thousands of voters lose their voices. This year Georgia voters pleaded for a transparent redistricting process that would result in fair maps and competitive districts. The party in power ignored us.

Here is what happened. Hearings were conducted across the state before the Census was complete, and before any draft maps had even been presented. Then, during the special legislative session, the Republicans held perfunctory and superficial committee hearings. Voters who went to the trouble of testifying, and Democratic legislators, might as well have been speaking to themselves in a sealed room.

Both parties have histories of misusing the redistricting process to their own advantage. That is not an excuse for continuing to do so. We are a purple state, where neither party reflects the preference of a majority of voters. Yet the district maps strongly favor one party. Why? Because that party is frantically working to retain power, completely disregarding the representational interests of many if not most Georgia citizens.

Urge your state legislators to establish a nonpartisan, independent redistricting process to prevent this travesty from occurring again in ten years. Tell them you simply want your vote to count.

Anita Tucker, Suwanee

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia redistricting demonstrates Republican skill at gerrymandering