Judges ask whether lawmakers could draw up new House map in time for this year’s elections
NEW ORLEANS– Federal judges who threw out a congressional election map that gave Louisiana a second majority-black district told state attorneys Monday to determine whether the Legislature could draw a new map in time for this year’s elections.
The order was outlined in a federal court filing following a meeting of judges and lawyers involved in complex lawsuits over the racial makeup of the state’s congressional delegation.
The state currently has five white Republican House members and one Black member, a Democrat. All were most recently elected based on a map drawn by the Legislature in 2022.
A federal judge in Baton Rouge has said the 2022 map likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act by splitting many of the state’s Black residents — about a third of the population — among five counties. The Legislature responded with a map that created a new district that crosses the state diagonally, connecting the black populations of Shreveport in the northwest, Alexandria in the center, and Lafayette and Baton Rouge in the south.
A group of self-identified non-African American voters has filed a lawsuit against the map, saying it was unconstitutionally drawn with race as a primary factor. That charge was filed in western Louisiana. A three-judge panel heard arguments and ruled 2-1 against the card.
The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, which runs state elections, has said districts are needed by May 15 to prepare for the July candidate filing period and the fall elections.
State attorneys were given until Tuesday evening to submit a letter “explaining the feasibility of the Louisiana Legislature enacting a new congressional map in time for the 2024 Congressional elections” and “whether there is a legislative tool to to issue a new congressional map before the 2024 elections.” regular session.” That session is now taking place in Baton Rouge.
The Secretary of State was also instructed to submit a briefing on the deadlines.
Since there is no map ready for the fall elections, the judges could decide to impose a map on the state. There are alternatives to the map approved in January, which Republican Governor Jeff Landry and other Republicans supported as the best way to protect powerful Republican incumbents.
During previous lawsuits, supporters of a second, mostly black district proposed maps to create a more compact district covering much of the eastern part of the state.
And on Monday, a group of professors from LSU and Tulane University presented the jury with a map that they said would give black voters the chance to choose the candidate of their choice. The map did not include predominantly Black districts, but it did include two districts that they said were likely to favor candidates favored by Black voters, based on historical voting patterns.