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LOUISIANA RECORD

Friday, November 8, 2024

U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal on Louisiana congressional map

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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal regarding Louisiana’s congressional district map.

The court on November 4 said it would hear the appeal regarding the map that a federal judge earlier this year said dilutes the power of Black voters.

The Supreme Court likely won’t hear the case until sometime next year.

In February, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick ruled the state Legislature needed to redraw the districts, but critics say that represents an illegal expansion of the Voting Rights Act.

The battle over the district boundaries has been going on for years, and the Supreme Court has been involved previously as well. Louisiana has six congressional districts.

Court watchers say the Supreme Court ruling could play a key role in answering how far lawmakers can go in using the race of voters when drawing district boundary lines to comply with the VRA.

The first Louisiana district map following the 2020 census was shot down in federal court because it included just one majority Black district even though Blacks make up about one-third of the state’s population. The second map featured two such districts, but a group that included prominent non-Black Republicans sued. A district court panel ruled in favor of that group.

The issue was on the U.S. Supreme Court’s emergency docket this spring. The Justices allowed the current districts to be used for this week’s general election.

This week’s ruling will allow the court to hear the appeal of the three-judge panel by the group of non-Black GOP members who say the current map violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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