Louisiana Legislature Draws New Congressional Map With One Majority-Black District

Louisiana lawmakers approved a new congressional map on May 29 that complies with a U.S. Supreme Court order to redraw the state’s previous districts. Gov. Jeff Landry signed the plan hours after it passed the Republican-controlled Legislature. The Supreme Court had struck down Louisiana’s prior map as an illegal racial gerrymander one month earlier.

The state Senate passed the bill 28-10 along party lines. Republican state Sen. Jay Morris, the bill’s sponsor, said he instructed map demographers to avoid using any racial data. “I purposely put more Democrats into District 2 to make the remaining districts better performing for Republicans,” Morris said.

The new map reduces the number of majority-Black districts from two to one. Both existing majority-Black districts are currently held by Democrats. The map is expected to strengthen Republican performance in the state’s other districts.

State Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat, objected during floor debate and noted that some other Southern states had declined to redraw maps in the middle of an election year. Additional litigation is anticipated.