In his first hours in office, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Monday called a redistricting special session, giving lawmakers the opportunity to draw and replace the state's current congressional map that a federal judge said violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters.
Landry, a Republican, assumed office at noon on Monday and only a few hours later followed through on a promise he had made weeks earlier — issuing an executive order for a special session, calling lawmakers back to the Capitol.
“The courts have mandated that the state of Louisiana redraw our congressional districts," Landry said in a press release. “Redistricting is a state legislative function. That is why today, I followed the court order and made the call to convene the legislature of Louisiana into a special session on redistricting.”
Louisiana’s current GOP-drawn map, which was used in the November congressional election, has white majorities in five of six districts — despite Black people accounting for one-third of the state’s population. Another mostly Black district could deliver a second congressional seat to Democrats in the red state.
The special session will take place from Jan. 15 to Jan. 23. Officials have until Jan. 30 to pass new congressional boundaries, with a second majority-minority district. If they do not meet the deadline, the district court will hold a trial and “decide on a plan for the 2024 elections,” according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth District court’s order in November.
Whether or not lawmakers will agree upon and advance a map remains to be determined. However, if they do, the new political boundaries could still be challenged in court.
Louisiana is among the list of states still wrangling over congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act. The battle over Louisiana's congressional boundaries has played out in the legislative chambers and in court for more than a year and a half.
Democrats argue that the map discriminates against Black voters and that there should be two majority-minority districts. Republicans say the map is fair and argue that Black populations in the state are too dispersed to be united into a second majority-Black district. Baton Rouge-based U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick agreed with civil rights groups' arguments and struck down Louisiana’s map for violating the Voting Rights Act in June.
Dick said in her ruling that “evidence of Louisiana’s long and ongoing history of voting-related discrimination weighs heavily in favor of Plaintiffs.” Dick, a Barack Obama appointee, ordered that the map be redrawn to include a second majority-Black district, before it was sent to a federal New Orleans appeals court.
In November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth District set the deadline to complete the new map as Jan. 15. Dick granted a two-week extension.
Every 10 years state lawmakers — armed with new U.S. Census Bureau information — redraw political boundaries for seats in the U.S. House, state Senate, state House, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Public Service Commission. The process ultimately affects which political parties, viewpoints and people control the government bodies that write laws, set utility rates and create public school policies.
