Louisiana advances congressional map with reduced Black representation

"The winning proposal in a 4-3 vote was a map (SB 121) from Sen. Jay Morris, a Republican from West Monroe. He says it's based on the state's previous map from 2022 and has a majority-Black district that stretches from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. It redraws the others to be majority-white."

"The other proposal, which was widely supported by residents at the meeting, was a map ( SB 407) from Sen. Ed Price, a Democrat from Gonzales. It proposed four majority-white districts and two "opportunity" districts that he says would give Black voters a chance to elect candidates of their choice, Hutchinson says. The map did not get enough votes to advance."

"Sen. Sam Jenkins, a Democrat from Shreveport, said lawmakers agreed not to advance a 6-0 map that would eliminate all majority-Black districts, Hutchinson reported. The map now goes to the full Senate. If approved, it heads to the state House and then Gov. Jeff Landry."

"Gov. Jeff Landry says a new map is needed before U.S. House races can move forward. He suspended those elections April 30 after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Callais case. Lawmakers are racing to approve the new map before the legislative session ends June 1."

A Senate committee held an overnight meeting lasting nearly 10 hours to hear resident testimony on proposed Louisiana congressional district maps. The committee ended around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, and the full Senate is expected to vote Thursday before the bill moves to a House committee next week. Louisiana has six U.S. House districts, with four majority-white and two majority-Black. Gov. Jeff Landry suspended U.S. House elections on April 30 after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais decision and lawmakers are racing to approve a new map before the legislative session ends June 1. The committee advanced SB 121 in a 4-3 vote, based on the 2022 map and creating a majority-Black district stretching from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. SB 407 was rejected after proposing four majority-white districts and two “opportunity” districts intended to give Black voters a chance to elect candidates of their choice. Lawmakers agreed not to advance a 6-0 map that would eliminate all majority-Black districts. If approved, SB 121 will move to the state House and then to Gov. Landry.

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