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June 27, 2023, Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
CNN
—
A group of mostly white voters challenging Louisiana’s proposed congressional districts called the map “morally repugnant” in a filing with the Supreme Court on Monday.
The high court is considering an emergency appeal over a map drawn by state lawmakers that includes the second-most black district in Louisiana’s six-district legislative plan. A conservative-leaning lower court recently ruled against the map, finding that its creation violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
The second majority-black district was drawn in response to another court ruling that found a previous map that had only one majority-black district likely violated the Voting Rights Act. A federal judge concluded that early maps discriminated against black voters in Louisiana. Black people make up nearly a third of the state’s population, but they make up a majority of voters in just one of the state’s six congressional districts.
A group of mostly white voters told the Supreme Court in its latest filing that the new map is “morally repugnant.” “It’s not a close call.”
The Supreme Court’s decision has national may have an impact. It could also affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.
Louisiana state officials and a group of black voters last week asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute, quickly ending a dispute that has essentially left the state without a viable map for this year’s elections. He asked the High Court to resolve the matter.
“With five days until May 15, when the Louisiana Secretary of State must begin drawing congressional maps for the 2024 election, Louisiana does not have a congressional map,” the state told the Supreme Court on Friday. I told you. “Louisiana’s improbable situation in this redistricting cycle would be comical if it weren’t so serious.”
Voters objecting to the map described the warning as “strangely shrill” and said lower courts had “plenty of time” before the November election.
The Supreme Court could decide as soon as this week whether to allow temporary use of the map.
