WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for Louisiana to use a congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts in this year's elections.
The court granted an emergency request filed by an unlikely alliance of Republican state officials and civil rights groups who have banded together to ask the high court to block a lower court ruling that invalidated recently drawn maps. Ta. State officials had said they needed the map completed by Wednesday to meet bureaucratic deadlines and avoid “chaos.”
Black voters have historically voted Democratic, and a map with two majority-Black districts could give Blacks an opportunity to win seats in the closely divided House. It could help you regain control.
The court's three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the state still has time to draw a map that addresses the various legal issues being raised. The court is 6 to 3 conservative majority.
“There is little risk of voter confusion by imposing new maps so far from the November election,” Jackson wrote.
Liberal justices have also challenged past cases in which courts have tried to block changes to district maps and election laws during election years, often in favor of Republicans.
Internal divisions over the issue intensified after a court blocked a ruling that would invalidate Alabama's 2022 congressional district maps.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh later defended the move, calling it a “fundamental tenet” of election law: “In an election year, the rules of the road must be clear and resolved.”
The majority did not elaborate on the reasons for Wednesday's decision.
Louisiana's maps have been the subject of intense litigation, with a court ruling that the state's original efforts amounted to racial gerrymandering. Using the original map of Congress, Republicans won five of the six districts in the 2022 election.
Then, last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that a similar congressional map in Alabama (the same one it had previously allowed to use in 2022) discriminated against Black voters, enforcing the federal Voting Rights Act. This map has since been redrawn in response to unexpected reinforcements.
But after a new map of Louisiana was drawn, a new group of plaintiffs, each listed in court documents as “non-African American,” wanted to ensure the law applied equally to everyone. A legal challenge was filed on the grounds that it violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. These plaintiffs argued that electing a second majority black district was itself a form of discrimination against non-black voters.
A federal court rejected the new map, but state officials told the Supreme Court it was imperative to “avoid chaos and confusion” as time is running out to finalize congressional districts before this year's elections. Stated.
Plaintiffs in the new lawsuit argue that the state's deadline is “hopelessly arbitrary” due in part to the lack of a spring primary election.
Louisiana does not have a traditional primary election like other states. Instead, all candidates will be listed on Election Day ballots, known as the “jungle primary.” The state recently revised its election laws and is expected to join other states in introducing more party primaries in 2026.
Supporters of the updated Louisiana map welcomed Wednesday's order by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court’s action today ensures that the voices of Black voters will not be silenced during this year’s critical elections,” Sarah Lohani, redistricting fellow at the Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement. Stated. “The Voting Rights Act requires Louisiana to draw maps that give Black voters a fair opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice. This is the end of our efforts to uphold that principle. “But it's an important moment in our fight for a fair map for Louisiana, and it reflects the strength of our democracy.”
