A new congressional map in Louisiana was struck down Tuesday by a panel of federal judges who ruled that the new boundaries, which form a second majority-black district in the state, amounted to an “impermissible racial gerrymander” that violated the of equal protection. of the American Constitution.
The 2-1 decision now leaves it unclear which limits will be used in elections just six months away and which could play a critical role in determining the balance of power in the House of Representatives.
Critics have warned that the decision could have broader implications for voting rights. Eric H. Holder Jr., former U.S. attorney general and current chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said “the ideological nature of the decision could not be clearer.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, indicated Tuesday that the case could go to the U.S. Supreme Court. “I have always said that the Supreme Court needs to clarify this situation,” she wrote. on social networks.
The justices have scheduled a hearing for May 6 to discuss next steps. Louisiana’s secretary of state has ordered the congressional map to be finalized by May 15.
The new neighborhoods had been presented in January during a special session of the state legislature. Lawmakers were ordered to draw the new boundaries after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found the previous map had not been respected. most likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of black residents.
But the new maps were put before another panel of federal judges after a group of residents scattered across the new congressional district who describe themselves as “non-African American” voters challenged the maps. They argued that lawmakers had decided to “separate voters entirely based on their races” and, to achieve this, they had brought together “communities in remote parts of Louisiana.”
The new majority-black district cuts through a long, narrow strip that stretches from Baton Rouge, the capital at the tip of Louisiana’s boot, to Shreveport in the northwest corner of the state. About 54 percent of the district’s population is black.
In Tuesday’s ruling, Judges David C. Joseph and Robert R. Summerhays, both of the Western District of Louisiana, acknowledged that factors other than race, such as the protection of certain incumbents, were considered in the process. Nonetheless, they said, it was clear that creating a second district with a majority of black voters was lawmakers’ overarching goal.
“The predominant role of race in state decisions,” the justices wrote, “is reflected in the statements of legislative decision-makers, the division of cities and parishes along racial lines, the unusual shape of the district and the evidence that the contours of the district were made to absorb a sufficient number of majority black neighborhoods to achieve the goal of a functioning majority black district.
The justices noted that the ruling did not decide “whether it was possible to create a second majority-black district in Louisiana that would be consistent” with the Equal Protection Clause. But they added that the Voting Rights Act “never requires that race predominate in drawing congressional districts, at the sacrifice of traditional district principles.”
In a dissenting opinion, Fifth Circuit Judge Carl E. Stewart argued that the challengers failed to prove that their constitutional rights had been violated.
“The entire record,” he wrote, “demonstrates that the Louisiana Legislature weighed various policy concerns – including the protection of certain incumbents – with race, without any one factor predominating over the other. »
The ruling is the latest in a long-running legal battle over the shape of Louisiana’s congressional districts and comes as other Southern states have also been forced by courts to redraw district boundaries due to accusations of racial discrimination.
Louisiana was forced to redraw congressional districts after the 2020 census to account for changing population. The census found that the state’s black population increased by 3.8 percent over the past decade, meaning about a third of the total population was black. But on the map drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature, only one of the six congressional districts had a majority black population.
In June 2022, a federal judge concluded that the map had been racially altered and illegally weakened the electoral power of black voters. The judge ordered lawmakers to create another district that would give black voters the opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice. But the contested map was still used in the 2022 elections.
Other southern states were also ordered to redraw the maps After a surprise decision from the US Supreme Court last year, in which justices threw out Alabama’s congressional limits, finding they did not adequately account for the state’s black population. The ruling reaffirmed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had been weakened over the years by the court’s conservative majority.
Critics of Tuesday’s decision have argued that the repercussions in Louisiana could extend beyond a single election, or even partisan divisions. Ashley Shelton, who leads the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, which was part of the challenge to the original 2020 map, said she and others are not discouraged.
“We will continue to fight for a map that reflects our communities, that honors the promise of the Voting Rights Act,” Ms. Shelton said, “and that respects the voices of the thousands of Louisianans who have been engaged throughout the redistricting process.” . We have been clear from day one in our call for a fair and representative map.
