Supreme Court to Hear Louisiana Redistricting Challenge
The Supreme Court will hear two cases — consolidated into one — concerning Louisiana’s new congressional map.
In late January, a group of 12 “non-African American” voters filed a lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s new congressional map with two majority-Black districts. The map was drawn after federal courts determined that the previous map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordered the legislature to draw a second majority-Black district.
The group of non-Black voters who filed suit in January argued that the new map was unconstitutional because race was used as a “predominant factor” when drawing it, in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments.
A federal district court agreed, striking down the map on April 30 and expressed their intention to order the use of an interim map if the legislature did not enact a new map by June 3.
However, the state claimed that the congressional map needed to be finalized by May 15 in preparation for the 2024 election, and asked the Supreme Court to temporarily pause the district court’s order. The Supreme Court obliged, allowing the congressional map with two majority-Black districts to be used in the 2024 election.
Both the state and Black voters asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case. Now, the Court will take up the case and determine whether that map is constitutional.