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Louisiana’s Race Against Time: Redrawing the Congressional Map by June 3…

Louisiana's Race Against Time: Redrawing the Congressional Map by June 3

The state legislature in Louisiana has been given until the start of June by the federal court that invalidated the state’s congressional map on the grounds that it was a racial gerrymander.

Meanwhile, the court is establishing a timeline for when it will review fresh congressional plans, just in case it has to draw the new map itself.

“Since the Louisiana Legislature has not passed a new map by June 3, 2024, the Court plans to implement a temporary remedial Congressional districting map on June 4, 2024,” the court stated in its Tuesday order, adding that it might hire a redistricting consultant to help it with the process.

The three-judge panel in Louisiana’s court has issued a scheduling order, which is the most recent twist in the contentious battle over the congressional districting that might determine who controls the House of Representatives in the upcoming year.

In a state where around one-third of the population is African American, the Louisiana legislature constructed a map after the 2020 census. However, another federal court determined last year that this map likely violated the Voting Rights Act as it had only one district that was majority-Black.

With the adoption of a new map this year, the legislature increased the number of districts with a majority Black population from six to two. Last Monday, a three-judge panel rejected that map when voters—including prominent White Republicans—challenged it.

According to Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry, the state requires a map by May 15 in order to oversee the elections this year. Louisiana could be ready for the November election with a map by the end of May, according to previous remarks made by the state’s lawyer in the other case, which the court took into consideration on Tuesday.

It is anticipated that a portion of the parties engaged in the ongoing litigation will petition the Supreme Court to step in this week, allowing the lawmakers’ proposal from earlier in the year to be implemented for the next elections.

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