by Robin Kemp

The Georgia Assembly’s House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee and Senate Reapportionment Redistricting Committee have released the locations of the next three public hearings on redistricting.

Why it matters

The first hearing was held virtually on June 15 from the Gold Dome but only about 1/3 of those who had signed up to testify did so. As a result, co-chair Bonnie Rich said there probably would be only one more virtual hearing. That means people will have to travel to testify in person if they do not live near the hearing sites. The committee is deciding how to divide up maps of Congressional districts based on the 2020 Census, which could change the strength of your vote in numerous local, state, and federal elections.

How to make your voice heard

You do not need to live in the location to testify but testimony will be taken in person, not virtually.

The announcement did not specify how or whether speakers should sign up in advance to be heard.

You also may submit written testimony to the committee at this link (we’ve shortened it so you can share it easily): tinycc./Redistrict . Be sure to write out your comments before filling out the form and to keep a copy for your records.

How to watch online

The hearings will be livestreamed at www.legis.ga.gov. Look under “Today’s Schedule” on the day of the event or “All Upcoming Events” to see where you can watch future hearings.

The first hearing was held virtually from the Gold Dome but only about 1/3 of those who had signed up to testify did so. As a result, co-chair Bonnie Rich said there probably would be only one more virtual hearing. That means people will have to travel to testify in person if they do not live near the hearing sites. The committee is deciding how to divide up maps of Congressional districts based on the 2020 Census, which could change the strength of your vote in numerous local, state, and federal elections.

We’ve embedded the link for the Monday, June 28 hearing below for your convenience (and will update it if it moves) if you want to watch that day’s hearing. Just bookmark this page in your browser:

Use the data to make your own maps

This year, the nonpartisan Princeton Gerrymandering Project at Princeton University is providing data from the last 20 years to lawmakers to consider as part of the reapportionment and redistricting process. The

Fair Districts Georgia and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project had offered to share this information with lawmakers in a briefing earlier this week. A second briefing for the general public will take place online on Monday, June 21 at 7 p.m. Admission is free but you must sign up in advance (here’s a shortlink) at https://bit.ly/3qfBBIE.

This image from Tufts University’s Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group (MGGG) at Tisch College depicts some of the rules that apply to redistricting.

Learn more on the Princeton Gerrymandering Project’s Georgia page: https://gerrymander.princeton.edu/reforms/GA

See some of that data on the Open Precinct site at https://openprecincts.org/ga/

Draw your own maps at https://davesredistricting.org/maps#state::GA and https://districtr.org/georgia, which you also can submit to lawmakers, to show what you think fair representation would look like.