MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Some Central Georgia Democrats are celebrating last week's court ruling that orders lawmakers to redraw State House and Senate district lines.
They say the general assembly drew the map lines in a way that dilutes the power of black and minority voters.
Quentin Howell is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
He says he and his wife Latonya try to do their best for their community, whether it's selling medical supplies at their Milledgeville business or in their political endeavors.
“It's a beautiful community to be a part of and our community needs to have better policies,” Howell said.
He ran for House District 141 in 2020. Ultimately, Howell lost in his bid for the statehouse.
But Howell points to how the U.S. census revealed that Georgia's black population increased by almost 490,000 people since 2010.
“Unfortunately, they did not – when they drew the lines – take that into accountability,” Howell said.
By lines, Howell says he means the political maps drawn by Republican lawmakers at the time. He says they split up or shoved together Black and minority voters to dilute their voting power. He says it’s called "cracking" or "stacking."
It is also called gerrymandering.
He points to Baldwin County and the district maps drawn by the GOP legislature.
“For House District 145, they took Sandersville over here and they broke off Baldwin County– added it to that Sandersville district. Then they took all of Putnam County off and added Jones County to it," Howell said.
This is where the term "cracking" comes in.
"So, you cracked the minority district here along the river which dilutes the African American vote,” he explained.
Howell's wife, Latonya, and Vice-Chair of the Baldwin County Democratic party says this affected rural voters.
“People were upset because it was almost as if people were trying to take away our voice,” she said. “If we go to the polls, it wouldn’t even matter. People were hurt and angry that it was happening, and it was allowed to happen.”
Howell said it doesn’t just affect the Black population.
“Dr. King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ So, if you dilute the rights of one part of our community, you’re hurting the rights of all of our community," he said.
So Howell and several others from across Georgia sued state lawmakers saying their election map violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“Discrimination based on race, color, or gender is illegal in the United States of America,” he explained.
Last Thursday, a federal judge ruled in their favor.
Lawmakers must redraw Senate and House district lines by Dec. 8, prompting Gov. Brian Kemp to call a special session to redraw the districts.
“This is a history-making moment that us as Americans can look and say the right thing was done," he said. "It wasn't done trying to make political hate one way or another, it was done to just have accountability throughout our community.”
It gives them a chance to do what’s best for all, especially for those who didn't always have voting rights.
“So many people died just so that I could have this right,” Latonya Howell said. “It’s also for Caucasian Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, everyone that’s out there. It’s to give them that freedom that we’re supposed to be entitled to."
That is why voting rights are so important to her.
"So, we need to make sure that that is protected and changing the redistricting of these lines, it gives us the opportunity to do that," she said.
Due to the ruling, Howell says the state may get seven new state Legislative and House seats come December.