The Supreme Court has ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district. This decision overturns a lower court ruling that deemed the map to be an illegal racial gerrymander. The implementation of this map could potentially increase the Democrats’ chances of gaining control of the House of Representatives in the 2024 elections. About a third of Louisiana’s population is Black, and the Supreme Court’s order aims to avoid confusion with new maps for this year’s elections.
The Supreme Court’s decision does not address the lower court ruling that found the map to rely too heavily on race. Instead, it prevents the creation of another new map for this year’s elections. The court may decide later if it wants to hear arguments regarding the decision to strike down the Louisiana map. The three liberal justices dissented from Wednesday’s order, stating that the judges who struck down the map should have had the opportunity to produce a new map before the Supreme Court intervened.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh has previously emphasized the need for clear and settled election rules near voting time to avoid voter confusion. The court has never set a strict deadline for when changes impacting elections are considered too close to the voting date. A lawyer representing Black voters in Louisiana praised the Supreme Court’s action to prevent uncertainty so close to the election, ensuring that the state will have a map with two majority Black districts this fall.
Louisiana faced legal challenges to its congressional maps in recent years, with courts blocking two different maps in the span of two years. Following the 2020 Census, the state’s Republican-led legislature drew a new map in 2022. However, civil rights groups challenged this map, arguing it discriminated against Black voters. The Supreme Court intervened to allow Louisiana and Alabama to use these maps in the 2022 elections, with expectations for new maps by 2024.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals imposed a deadline for Louisiana lawmakers to draw a new map by early 2024. New Gov. Jeff Landry initially defended the state’s map but later encouraged lawmakers to pass a new map with an additional majority Black district. However, a group of non-African American plaintiffs filed a lawsuit claiming that the new map was driven too much by race, leading to a block on its use. State officials argue that the new map was influenced by political rather than racial considerations, highlighting safe districts for Republicans.
A new mostly Black district in Louisiana could provide Democrats the opportunity to capture another House seat and send a second Black representative to Congress. Democratic state Sen. Cleo Fields has expressed interest in running for the House seat in the newly proposed district, further highlighting the potential impact of the redistricting on political representation in Louisiana.
