Louisiana Lawmakers Redraw Congressional Map Following Supreme Court Decision

Last month, the Supreme Court rejected Louisiana’s previous congressional map, deeming it an illegal racial gerrymander. This ruling initiated a redistricting race across Southern states.

State Representative Edmond Jordan of Louisiana addressed fellow lawmakers before a crucial vote on a redistricting plan. This plan aims to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts, responding to the Supreme Court ruling.

On Friday, Louisiana’s lawmakers finalized and approved a new congressional map. This map removes one of the majority-Black districts, making Louisiana the second Southern state to alter such districts following the court’s decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act.

The court’s ruling led to alterations in Louisiana’s congressional map. The Republican-controlled Legislature amended the map to decrease Black voter concentration in the contested district, giving Republicans a strategic edge for upcoming midterm elections.

The State Senate passed the map with a 28 to 10 vote on Friday afternoon. The House had voted almost entirely along party lines the previous day. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, is expected to sign the map into law soon.

Louisiana has postponed its U.S. House primaries to November 3, roughly six months later than the state’s other primary elections.

Representative Cleo Fields, a Black Democrat, will see his district eliminated but has not announced whether he will run in a newly drawn district that leans Republican.

The Supreme Court’s decision has made it harder to claim discrimination under the Voting Rights Act, a key piece of civil rights legislation from 1965. This ruling has sparked discussions among Republican-led legislatures about potentially restructuring majority-Black districts held by Democrats, which previously received protection under the Act.