Washington, D.C.
The United States Supreme Court on May 15 restored a congressional voting map in Louisiana that includes an additional majority-Black district, handing a victory to African American voters and Democrats less than six months before the November election.
The order was in response to emergency appeals filed after a federal three-judge panel in the state threw out the recently redrawn map last month, ruling that it was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
That decision left the state without a congressional voting map heading into a 2024 contest that will determine which party controls the narrowly divided House. The Supreme Court’s move removes the cloud of uncertainty that had been lingering over the election, with statewide Republican leaders saying they welcomed the clarity.
The ruling was also celebrated by civil and voting rights advocates. “It’s the right outcome for Black voters in the state of Louisiana,” said Stuart Naifeh, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who represents Black voters in the case.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her opinion that the “question of how to elect representatives consistent with our shared commitment to racial equality is among the most consequential we face as a democracy,” but she objected to the Supreme Court getting involved now.
The court ruling was on the narrow issue of what map should be used for this election. It will allow appeals to continue and could decide whether the map with two majority-Black districts should be used for elections in 2026 and beyond.
Paul Hurd, an attorney for the voters who challenged the map with two majority-Black districts, said he was confident the Supreme Court would eventually strike it down, even if it can be used this fall.
“The state of Louisiana enacted a brutal racial gerrymander that segregates its voters based on their race,” he said in a statement. “Louisiana politicians passed the law at the last minute, lost in court, and then cynically ran out the clock on a replacement map.”
