Kemp rejects calls to redraw this year’s political maps, early voting surge and other news

Independence Day is still a couple months away, but there were plenty of fireworks in Georgia this week.

Some of them went off in a Georgia Public Broadcasting studio, where the Atlanta Press Club hosted debates this week ahead of Georgia’s May 19 primary elections.

In this week’s political roundup, we spotlight a revealing moment from this week’s debates, along with the governor’s decision to hold off on calling lawmakers back to redraw the state’s political maps and the latest on early voting and endorsement news.

Kemp won’t call special session to redraw political maps for this year

The U.S. Supreme Court this week dealt a major blow to a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prevented states from creating legislative maps that dilute the voting power of minority citizens.

The decision is likely to have ripple effects on electoral maps around the country, but those effects will not be felt in Georgia until after this year’s election, according to Gov. Brian Kemp’s office.

Kemp called a special legislative session in 2023 to redraw the state’s legislative lines after a judge ruled the state’s previous attempt ran afoul of the law, harming the voting power of Black Georgians.

Republican leaders and candidates have been calling on the governor to declare a special session this year to redraw the lines in a way that would benefit conservative candidates.

In a statement, Kemp expressed support for the decision but indicated that it’s too late to redraw the maps this year.

“The Supreme Court’s decision Louisiana v. Callais restores fairness to our redistricting process and allows states to pass electoral maps that reflect the will of the voters, not the will of federal judges,” Kemp said in a statement. “Voting is already underway for the 2026 elections, but it’s clear that Callais requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.”

Special sessions in Georgia are typically declared by the governor through proclamation, and lawmakers can only pass laws dealing with the subjects named in the proclamation.

Separately, Kemp is reportedly considering whether to declare a special session this year to deal with a bungle created when lawmakers failed to address a self-imposed deadline to remove QR codes from Georgia ballots.

Biden, Willis and Deal pick faves

Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms received a hefty endorsement Friday morning from former President Joe Biden.

In a video posted on YouTube and social media, Biden pointed to Bottoms’ challenges during her one term as mayor, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that she is “battle-tested” and “handled it all with steady, thoughtful leadership.” After choosing not to seek a second term, Bottoms worked in the Biden administration as a senior advisor in the White House Office of Public Engagement.

“I’ve known her for a long time, and she’s something special. As mayor of Atlanta, Keisha faced every challenge a leader could face and then some,” Biden said.

National and state Republicans welcomed the endorsement and quickly pounced on the opportunity to attack Bottoms. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is running for governor, said on social media that “Bottoms burned Atlanta to the ground (and) now she and Joe Biden want to do it again.” Rick Jackson, a Republican healthcare executive also running, had fewer words and simply said “one failure endorses another.”

Attorney General Chris Carr, who is seeking the GOP nomination and has not broken through in polls, also received a big endorsement this week from Former Gov. Nathan Deal. Deal said at an event in Gainesville that Carr “is competent (and) he is capable of being a very good governor” before introducing Carr to the audience.

“And most importantly, of all, he’s a good man. A good person. Good people make good decisions,” Deal said.

And Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis issued some endorsements of her own this week, putting her name behind dentist and reality TV star Heavenly Kimes in her bid for Congress and former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes, who is running for lieutenant governor.

Willis gained national attention after charging Trump in 2023 with attempting to interfere with the 2020 election in Georgia. A Fulton County judge ultimately dismissed the case in November.

Early voting turnout

According to data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, early voting is off to a brisk start as the first week wraps up.

As of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, just over 189,000 Georgia ballots have been cast, representing 2.6% turnout.

According to Georgia Votes, total turnout in this year’s race is 15% higher than at this time in 2022’s primary election.

Of those who have cast ballots, about 53% pulled Democratic ballots and 45% chose a Republican ballot, with 1.5% opting for a nonpartisan ballot.

Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie said it’s not surprising that Democrats have drawn more ballots at this point in the race, but warned against drawing conclusions from that data point.

Democrats appear to be more enthusiastic voters this year because of dissatisfaction with the Trump administration, but Republicans tend to be more likely to cast their ballots on Election Day rather than before, in part because Trump has cast doubt on early voting.

“It’s not surprising that more people would be pulling Democratic ballots so far, that doesn’t mean that that’s necessarily going to be the case,” she said.

In Georgia, one does not have to be a member of a party to vote in that party’s primary, and some voters choose to draw the ballot from the party they do not support in the hopes of influencing who ends up being that party’s nominee.

Early voting is going on now, and Election Day is May 19. If you vote early, you can vote at any polling place in your county, but if you vote on Election Day, you’ll have to visit your assigned precinct. Either way, you’ll need to bring ID to cast a ballot.

Visit the Georgia My Voter Page and your county’s elections website for more information.

Burt Jones, Rick Jackson share stage for first – and likely only – time for this month’s election

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones seemed poised for an easy path to the GOP nomination with the backing of President Trump – until wealthy businessman Rick Jackson joined the race in February.

In what is likely the only time the two men will share a debate stage, Jackson and Jones duked it out over each other’s financial and personal ethics.

“He’s been spending millions of dollars telling lies about me, but what’s even worse than that, he’s spending millions of dollars telling lies to you, the public, about himself,” Jones said.

Both men have spent millions on attack ads. Jones has also been the target of “dark money” group Georgians for Integrity, which spent millions attacking Jones before Jackson even entered the race.

Jackson denied being behind the group and slammed Jones over allegations Jones scuttled legislation sponsored by lawmakers who supported Jackson.

“Burt Jones just feels like that he can make up his own rules and do whatever he wants to, and from that standpoint, I think it’s despicable to use the power of this position in order for self interest,” Jackson said.

Jones denies any impropriety.

Jones in turn pressed Jackson on whether he employs workers at his metro Atlanta estate who are in the United States illegally, to which Jackson responded “I don’t know.” Jackson then added that he hires thousands of people and said “we obey the laws.”

The gubernatorial debates from both parties became heated at times, as did the Democratic lieutenant governor’s debate and the debate for the Republican secretary of state nomination. All of this week’s debates can be watched for free on the Atlanta Press Club’s YouTube channel.