Redraw

Lawmakers cite rushed timeline and public input despite pressure to redraw districts after supreme court opinionGeorgia Republicans declined to redraw the state’s congressional map during a special session, citing a rushed timeline and incomplete understanding of the ramifications of a recent US supreme court decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.“We believe that it’s important to do things the Georgia way, responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input,” said Jon Burns, the Georgia house speaker. Continue reading...

• Latin America is experiencing a record surge in internal displacement driven by criminal violence, weak state governance, and the neglect of marginalized neighborhoods. • According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), families are being forced from their homes but remain trapped within their own national borders due to a lack of protection. • This crisis signifies a shift in territorial control, where criminal entities often govern areas and profit from fear, effectively rendering citizenship conditional for displaced populations.

• Governments and enterprises in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America are increasingly adopting low-cost Chinese AI servers over US-dominated alternatives. • This shift is driven by severe budget constraints and a strategic desire to avoid over-dependence on a single global superpower. • The trend signifies a major reshaping of the global AI infrastructure map, challenging the market dominance of US tech ecosystems in emerging economies.

New map reshapes representative Steve Cohen’s majority-Black Memphis district and gives Republicans an advantageDemocratic representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee on Friday announced that he is ending his bid for re-election, his career upended by the redistricting battles that are sweeping the country after last month’s supreme court decision.Republicans in Tennessee this month enacted a new US House map that carves up Cohen’s majority-Black district, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections. Continue reading...

Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and more are pushing to eliminate Democratic districts after supreme court rulingUS southern states are rushing to redraw congressional maps to eliminate Democratic districts and dilute the influence of Black voters in electing candidates, a bare-knuckled blitz occurring even in some states where voting in congressional primaries has begun, and prompted by the US supreme court’s decision gutting section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.Tennessee Republicans have already enacted a new map, carving up the majority Black city of Memphis into three different congressional districts to get rid of the state’s lone Democrat in Congress. Louisiana, the state at the center of the supreme court’s Voting Rights Act decision, is on the brink of implementing a new map that would eliminate the seat of one of the state’s two Black Democrats in Congress. Alabama has successfully petitioned the US supreme court to allow it to eliminate a district currently represented by a Black Democrat. Instead, it will use a map this cycle that a court previously ruled was intentionally drawn to discriminate against Black voters. Continue reading...

Brian Kemp’s move makes Georgia latest southern state to initiate map-making after dismantling of Voting Rights ActThe Republican governor of Georgia called a special session for next month to redraw electoral maps, the latest southern state to initiate a new map-making after the US supreme court’s dismantling of the Voting Rights Act.Brian Kemp announced the special session, which will start on 17 June, on Wednesday. It will focus on “enacting, revising, repealing, or amending” district lines for the state legislature and congressional district, in light of the supreme court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais. Continue reading...

However, Tate Reeves said he expects to redraw state’s four congressional districts before the 2027 electionsOn Wednesday morning, Mississippi’s governor, Tate Reeves, said that he is canceling a special legislative session that was scheduled to redraw the state’s supreme court districts next week. However, Reeves, a Republican, noted that he does expect the state to redraw its four congressional districts at some point in the near future.Reeves, in an appearance on SuperTalk radio, a conservative talk radio network, also said that it would be difficult for the state to redraw the congressional districts in the Republicans favor in time for the upcoming midterm elections, slated for November. Doing so might also hurt Republicans in congressional races. Continue reading...