New federal census data show Georgians are more ethnically and racially diverse and live mostly in and around large cities like Atlanta, Savannah and Macon.
The data is key in reshaping Georgia’s political landscape and determining the outcome of future elections. Georgia lawmakers and cartographers will use the data this fall to create new political districts based on the state’s heavily shifted demographics.
That prospect has voting rights and groups advocating for fair and equitable redistricting worried. They fear the new data along with the shortened redistricting process — a result of the delayed census data due to the pandemic and schedule changes — could lead to map manipulations and make gerrymandering more likely.
