WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold a lower court ruling that Louisiana must draw new congressional districts before the 2022 elections to increase Black voting power.
With the three liberal justices dissenting, the high court short-circuited an order from a federal judge to create a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana.
The state will hold elections this year under a congressional map adopted by its Republican-dominated legislature with white majorities in five of six districts.
The court’s action is similar to an order issued in February in Alabama that allowed the state to hold elections in 2022 under a map drawn by Alabama’s GOP-controlled legislature that contains one majority-Black district. Alabama has seven seats in the House of Representatives.
The justices are hearing arguments in the Alabama case in October. The Louisiana case will remain on hold under the court renders a decision on the Alabama case, the justices said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that he's "more than a little disappointed" by the ruling, adding that it doesn't goes against the rule of law, fairness and simple math.
"Black Louisianans make up one third of our population, and one third of our districts should be majority Black when such a map can be drawn, and, as has been demonstrated, that map is more compact, better adheres to the legal principles governing redistricting, and will perform," he tweeted after the Supreme Court's decision.
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