SCOTUS Unfreezes Louisiana Redistricting Case

Facts

• On Monday, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) lifted its hold on a case that could force Louisiana to redraw its congressional districts and provide more voting power to Black people.¹
• The removal of the freeze on Robison v. Ardoin comes weeks after the court similarly rejected a congressional map in Alabama.²
• Previously, Judge Shelly Dick ruled the Louisiana congressional map likely violated the Voting Rights Act and was considering a remedial congressional plan after lawmakers refused to draw a second majority-Black district.²
• At the time of the SCOTUS freeze more than one year ago, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals was preparing for an expedited review of Dick’s ruling.²
• Though Louisiana and Alabama are about one-third and more than a quarter Black, respectively, each state has one congressional district where Black people are the majority.³
• With the approval of SCOTUS, the appeal will go through the lower courts and eventually to the high court ahead of the 2024 congressional elections.³

Sources: ¹ABC News, ²CNN, and ³Washington Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by New York Times. These rulings finally bring the electorate into alignment with statewide racial demographics. Black people in states with large minority populations have been underrepresented for far too long — especially in southern states. It's time for congressional maps to represent racial reality.
• Republican narrative, as provided by The Hayride. SCOTUS is setting a dangerous precedent by allowing Democrat-appointed federal judges to override the constitutional authority of state legislatures to draw district maps. This continues a trend of states being kneecapped by unelected judges to the point where they can no longer decide how their states are governed or how their elections are run.