Louisiana Legislature Faces Deadline to Enact New Congressional Map

The Louisiana Legislature has been given until January 15th to enact a new congressional map after a lower court ruled last year that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state's Black voters, according to a federal New Orleans appeals court. However, the decision of whether current Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards will call a special session to redraw the political boundaries and if Republican Governor-elect Jeff Landry, who will be inaugurated on January 8th, will have enough time to call a special redistricting session remains uncertain.

The ongoing political tug-of-war and legal battle concerning Louisiana"s GOP-drawn congressional map has been ongoing for more than a year and a half. This includes Edwards vetoing the political boundaries and the Legislature overriding his veto, marking the first time in nearly three decades that lawmakers refused to accept a governor's refusal of a bill they had passed.

The current map, which was used in the November congressional election, has white majorities in five out of six districts, despite Black people accounting for one-third of the state's population. Republicans, who dominate Louisiana's Legislature, argue that the map is fair, claiming that the Black population in the state is too dispersed to be united into a second majority-Black district. On the other hand, Democrats argue that the map discriminates against Black voters and that there should be two majority-minority districts.

A lower court struck down Louisiana's map in June 2022 for violating the Voting Rights Act. District Judge Shelly Dick ruled that "evidence of Louisiana's long and ongoing history of voting-related discrimination weighs heavily in favor of Plaintiffs." The ruling ordered the map to be redrawn to include a second majority-Black district, which was appealed to the Fifth Circuit. In October, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal from Black voters in Louisiana to expedite the process of drawing new congressional districts.

Lawmakers now have until mid-January to draw and pass a new map, which would require a special session. A special session can be called by the governor or convened by the presiding officers of both chambers upon a written petition from most elected members of the House and Senate. While Governor Edwards has not indicated whether he will call a special session, he remains adamant that a second majority-Black district is necessary for accurate representation of the state.

Representative Troy Carter, the state's sole Black and Democratic member of Congress, has urged lawmakers to "do the right thing" and draw a new map with a second majority-Black district. He emphasized that there is no need to wait for a court to force compliance with clear law.

If Governor-elect Landry calls a special session, the timing will be challenging as he will not be inaugurated until January 8th, and the session cannot start until seven days after the proclamation is issued. This means that the earliest lawmakers could return to the Capitol is in January. However, the appeals court's order does state that the district court has the discretion to grant "limited additional time" if requested.

Louisiana is one of several Southern states that have been embroiled in legal battles over accusations of racial discrimination in their electoral maps. The Supreme Court ruled in June that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act, while last month, a federal judge ruled that Georgia had done the same. The Fifth Circuit ruling on Friday cited the Supreme Court decision and applied its reasoning to Louisiana's redistricting.

The decision by the federal appeals court on Friday agrees with a lower-court ruling that Louisiana's latest congressional map likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. It orders the state to finalize a new map by January, which would be used for the 2024 Louisiana congressional elections. The outcome of this redistricting process could have significant implications for the balance of power in Congress, where Republicans hold a slim majority in the House.

The plan to redraw the congressional map in Louisiana is seen as a critical step towards ensuring fair representation for the state's Black voters. The deadline for action looms, and the coming weeks will reveal whether Louisiana's lawmakers can meet the court's requirements or if a trial will be necessary to determine the map for the 2024 elections.