A judge must now decide if Georgia voting districts are racially discriminatory after a trial ended

A trial challenging voting district maps in Georgia concluded Thursday with the state arguing that court intervention on behalf of Black voters isn't needed, while the plaintiffs argued that Black voters are still fighting opposition from white voters and need federal help to get a fair shot. If U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rules for the challengers, one of Georgia's 14 U.S. House seats, plus multiple state Senate and state House seats, could be redrawn to contain majorities of Black residents. The closing arguments focused on the question of how far Georgia has come since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, whether more intervention is needed and whether proposals brought forward by the plaintiffs are so race-conscious as to be unconstitutional.