Politics & Government
Georgia House Passes Republicans' Plan for Athens Clarke County Commission Districts
Governor Deal is expected to sign the bill and send the redistricting plan to the Department of Justice.
Governor Nathan Deal is expected that will set the commission districts for Athens Clarke County.
The Georgia House of Representatives Monday morning passed , submitted by Republican Senators Bill Cowsert and Frank Ginn.
Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The legislator-drawn map has 10 commission districts, some with shapes that are similar to aquatic life forms. It differs markedly from the map created by a .
The committee held public hearings throughout the summer, tweaking maps and data. Their map had relatively few changes, and featured eight districts and two at-large districts, each covering half the county.
Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Democrat-turned-Republican Rep. Doug McKillip said he wouldn’t support the locally created map.
The legislators say their map creates districts that are more likely to elect minorities.
A non-partisan local committee took up that issues in December, concluding the 8 districts and 2 super districts arrangement didn’t discriminate against minorities.
The map now goes to the Department of Justice for approval.
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