Brian Kemp convened Georgia redistricting session under Trump pressure to reduce minority representation; legislature blocked it

On June 17, 2026, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp convened a special legislative session to redraw the state's congressional and legislative maps. The timing followed the Supreme Court's weakening of Section 2 protections in the Voting Rights Act and reflected Trump's explicit pressure on Republican-led states to exploit the ruling to reduce minority representation. Fair Fight Action estimated that roughly 26 legislative seats currently held by Democrats—seats with large minority populations—were at-risk targets for redistricting designed to flip them Republican. Hundreds of civil rights advocates, labor unions, and community groups filled the state Capitol.

Just before the session was to begin, House Speaker Jon Burns announced in a letter to Governor Kemp that the legislature would not take up redistricting. He cited the need for more public input and additional time for courts to "further develop" post-Callais doctrine. Senate President Pro Tem Larry Walker III concurred with Burns's decision. The block prevented Trump's pressure campaign from succeeding in Georgia, though the underlying attempt to dismantle majority-minority districts documents the real and persistent threat to fair elections in the post-Callais legal landscape.