Louisiana voters sue over state’s new majority-Black congressional district

A group of Louisiana voters has filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that new majority-black voting districts violate the constitution.

A group of 12 non-Black voters claims the map, signed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry after a special legislative session, violates the 14th and 15th Amendments.

“The state has engaged in blatant racial segregation of voters and intentional discrimination against voters on the basis of race,” the complaint alleges.of lawsuit He added that the map divides the community and separates African American and non-African American voters from the community.

The fight over congressional maps began about two years ago, when then-Governor John Bel Edwards (D) vetoed a set of maps that would be passed by the state Legislature in 2022.

At the time, Edwards said it was a violation of the Voting Rights Act to have a majority black district in a single district where black voters make up one-third of the state.

A federal judge ruled that the state Legislature must create a second majority-black district, a decision that was put on hold by the Supreme Court until last year. In November, an appeals court ordered the state to move forward with the second-majority black district.

The Congressional Black Caucus celebrated the new map as a “victory for Black voters,” but plaintiffs in a new lawsuit say the map is damaging Black and white voters because it leaves them unable to “impact their communities.” claims to be giving.

“Instead, both voters are cut off from their communities and forced into districts with other voters hundreds of miles apart, with little in common other than race,” the plaintiffs said. There is. “As a result, they don’t have the power to appeal to members of Congress, some of whom may not have knowledge of their region or culture.”

The case will be heard by a panel of three judges. One judge will be from the Fifth Circuit, and the other two will be from the Western District of Louisiana, where the new case was filed.