A case that could reshape Louisiana's congressional districts is now before the Supreme Court.
According to our partners at NOLA.com, Justice Samuel Alito ruled last week to give state officials and a party of Black voters until July 30 to submit arguments on why the Supreme Court should hear the case surrounding the number of majority-minority districts the state should have.
Alito is assigned to rule on motions that arise from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes the state of Louisiana.
In January, Louisiana state legislature approved a congressional district map which included two majority-minority districts. One of those districts, District 2, includes New Orleans and the River Parishes. The other, the reconfigured District 6, snakes from Baton Rouge westward into St. Landry and Lafayette Parishes and then northwestward into Shreveport. The gerrymandered district is similar to one created by lawmakers in the mid-1990s. Federal judges later ruled that district unconstitutional because it created a district solely so a minority candidate could be elected, which they said was a violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
After the parties submit their briefs, the Supreme Court would decide whether to take the case and hear arguments during its upcoming fall session.
To read the NOLA.com article, click here.
