Whoa on moving so fast on these maps says Rep. Franklin. We have some changes & want to give the public a chance to review before we vote on it.

The House committee considering a new map for Georgia's congressional districts on Wednesday postponed a vote on the plan for at least several days, while rolling out changes to its existing proposal.

Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Marietta, the House redistricting committee's chairman, said he wanted to give people more time to comment on the map.

"We wanted to public to have another chance to take a look at the map," Franklin said. "As soon as we feel it's ready, and the committee is ready, we'll be able to bring it forward."

On the map the committee unveiled Wednesday, the current 12th District - which runs from Athens through Augusta to Savannah - would be divided into three different districts.

Two pairs of incumbents would be placed in the same district - Democrat Jim Marshall and Republican Lynn Westmoreland in a west-central Georgia district and Democrat John Barrow and Republican John Linder in a district dominated by Gwinnett County, Linder's home.

Two open districts would be created - a large swath of south central Georgia, now mostly represented by Marshall, and turf northwest of Atlanta including Cherokee, Bartow, Gordon and Pickens counties.

(2-23-05 AP.)