Louisiana Legislature Approves New Congressional Map Reducing Majority-Black Districts

The Louisiana Legislature approved a new congressional map on Friday that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black districts and creates an additional Republican-leaning district. The map is anticipated to result in five Republican and one Democratic representative in Congress. This decision follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Louisiana v. Callais, which deemed the previous congressional map a racial gerrymander. The new map maintains one Black-majority district and is expected to face challenges from voting rights advocates. Approximately one-third of Louisiana's population is Black. Republican state Senator Jay Morris, who authored the bill, stated that the map meets traditional redistricting criteria and is defensible. However, Democratic state Representative Kyle Green Jr. criticized the reduction of minority representation, arguing that it diminishes the opportunity for Black Louisianians to have adequate representation in Congress. The state has postponed its House primaries, originally set for May 16, to allow lawmakers to finalize the congressional maps, which has invalidated around 40,000 votes already cast. The new map is likely to be the last implemented by a state legislature before the 2026 election, although legal challenges are expected to persist.