It's time for the tug of war to begin.

Census numbers released Thursday confirmed Georgia will gain a 14th congressional seat, and the redistricting talks in this summer's special legislative session promise to be intense.

"Everybody in the General Assembly wants it to fall right over their home," said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political science professor who wrote a book about reapportionment, calling it the "most political activity in America."

Lawmakers in Atlanta will use the new Census numbers to redraw district lines for everything from Congress to the city council. But creating the new congressional district promises to be one of the biggest concerns during redistricting talks.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if they can draw the district and then go to Congress," Bullock said. "To fit in this new district, they're going to have to carve it out of existing districts."

If census numbers indicated anything Thursday, the addition will fall above the Interstate 20 line, Bullock added.

"They'll have to take bits and pieces of several districts to stitch it together," he said.

"Incumbents may volunteer parts they don't do well in, and others won't dare let you take the areas with their strongest support or contributors."

Hall County could see a change, especially with its place on the 9th District line.

"Rep. Tom Graves left (the state House) just a year ago, so he may have a number of friends who will try to get him the district he wants," Bullock said.

"Hall County might be an area in play. Had Lee Hawkins won, Hall County would stay in 9th while other parts are shed, so we'll see what happens."

Bullock said he's interested to see if Gainesville's hometown influence will garner much attention under the Gold Dome.

"One theory is that with both the governor and lieutenant governor from Hall County, they might like to see Hall County as the center of the new district," he said. "Then the Gainesville voice would be very loud."

As officials dug into the numbers Thursday, early talks didn't give way to any predictions.

"No matter if I'm in Gainesville, Cumming, Ranger or LaFayette, I'm proud to represent Georgians," Graves said. "While I look forward to seeing the process evolve and following the progress made in Atlanta, my focus will continue to be on bringing a bold conservative voice to Congress."

State lawmakers will begin the mapping during a special session, which will be announced by Gov. Nathan Deal and likely fall at the end of the summer.

"Obviously this is going to take a lot of study and examination, and we're going to be doing that literally for months going forward," House Speaker David Ralston said. "Our focus is to finish up this legislative session, and after that we will look at those numbers in an intense way."

Under the federal Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice must vet all redistricting maps to verify that minority voters are not adversely affected.

"The most challenging part is to keep the members focused on the entire job and keep everybody's eye on the goal that we have to produce maps for the state, not just their own district," Ralston said.

"The goal is to produce maps that are fair, sensible and constitutional, keeping the process free of distractions and anything that could be perceived to be unfair."

It's a first-time experience for Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, who has been researching the reapportionment process.

"It's interesting to have to go back 10 years to find someone who knows what they're talking about. I've talked to several people in the Senate, and I'm very encouraged and excited," he said. "We could end up with some terrific districts in Hall County from the House to the Senate to Congress."

As lawmakers and attorneys keep an eye on gerrymandering in the northern part of the state, Bullock reminds voters to watch the changes in the south as well.

"You could see some bipartisan gerrymandering if you shift some of the Democrats out of the 8th District and some of the Republicans out of the 2nd to bolster the incumbents," he said. "You often see those kinds of moves, which would make both Austin Scott and Sanford Bishop happy."

Though lawmakers likely won't get away with any racial redistricting, particularly in the 12th District, they could succeed with strategic political party gerrymandering, Bullock noted.

"But if you get too greedy and try to create too many districts where your party would narrowly win, the tide could shift and make you vulnerable, so they aren't going to come up with some ultimate Republican plan," he said. "We do know that some representatives are going to be drawn out of their districts. We're going to see some musical chairs."