The Republican-controlled Louisiana Senate passed a new congressional map on Thursday that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black U.S. House districts, potentially giving Republicans five out of six seats in November's midterm elections.
Key Takeaways
The Louisiana Senate passed a new congressional map that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black districts, giving Republicans a potential 5-1 advantage in November's elections. The move follows a Supreme Court ruling weakening protections for minority districts. Democrats and civil rights groups criticize the plan as diluting Black voting power.
- Louisiana Senate passes new congressional map eliminating one majority-Black district
- New map could give Republicans five of six U.S. House seats
- Governor Landry postponed primaries after Supreme Court ruling
- Democrats accuse GOP of racial gerrymandering to gain political advantage
According to multiple reports, the map was approved 27-10 along party lines and will now head to the state House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a supermajority. The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened protections for districts with significant minority populations in late April.
The new map would drastically reshape District 6, currently represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, making it more Republican-leaning and connecting New Orleans to Baton Rouge. This could pit Fields against fellow Democratic Representative Troy Carter in a primary election.
Democratic lawmakers and civil rights activists have criticized the proposed map for diluting Black voting power. Senate Bill 121 now heads to the state House, where Republicans hold a more than two-thirds majority. If passed, lawmakers must approve a new map by June 1.
The Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais severely weakened the Voting Rights Act (VRA), leading several Southern states to redraw their congressional maps quickly. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry suspended the state's ongoing House primary elections a day after the Supreme Court decision, despite 45,000 absentee ballots already cast.
The current map was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, which found lawmakers relied too heavily on race in crafting the lines. The new map includes only a single Democratic district that connects New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
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