Judges will redraw LA congressional map if lawmakers can’t.

Federal judges recently made a significant decision that will have a significant impact on Louisiana’s political landscape. A congressional election map that aimed to create a second mostly Black district in Louisiana was thrown out by the judges. They have given the state Legislature a deadline of June 3 to pass a new map, or else the panel of judges will impose one on the state.

The judges, comprising two federal district judges and an appellate judge, emphasized that they would begin working on a remedial plan while providing lawmakers with the opportunity to devise a plan of their own. The state legislators are currently convening in Baton Rouge for a regular session that will conclude by June 3.

The court’s order explicitly stated that the Louisiana Legislature still has the chance to draw a legally compliant map despite the court’s involvement in the remedial phase of the case. The outcome of this decision could potentially alter the composition of the next U.S. Congress. If a new mostly Black district is created, Democrats could seize the opportunity to secure another House seat. The previous map that was invalidated converted District 6, represented by Republican Rep. Garret Graves, into a predominantly Black district. In response, Democratic state Sen. Cleo Fields expressed his intention to run for the seat.

The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judges David Joseph and Robert Summerhays, both of whom were appointed by former President Donald Trump, declared that the latest map violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by having race as the predominant factor in its creation.

This recent development is part of an ongoing legal battle that has unfolded across two federal court districts and an appeals court. Currently, Louisiana’s congressional representation consists of five white Republican U.S. House members and one Black Democrat. These representatives were elected using a 2022 map crafted by the Legislature.

Earlier, a federal judge in Baton Rouge halted the use of the 2022 map, citing potential violations of the federal Voting Rights Act as it divided a significant portion of the state’s Black population among five districts. Lawmakers were given a deadline by a federal appeals court to address this issue, leading to the creation of a new district spanning from Shreveport in the northwest to Baton Rouge in the south, connecting Black populations from different regions.

A group of non-African American voters challenged this new map, alleging that race played an unconstitutional role in its design. This lawsuit was filed in western Louisiana, where a three-judge panel ruled against the map by a 2-1 decision, ultimately culminating in the recent ruling by the panel of judges.

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office has highlighted the importance of having a new map in place by May 15 to prepare for the upcoming fall elections. However, testimony suggested that the office could still manage if the maps were finalized by the end of May since the candidate sign-up period is scheduled for mid-July.