Voting Access
AG Jeff Landry’s motion in NAACP lawsuit raises curiosity in political circles
In a case that has sparked curiosity within political circles, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that Louisiana Supreme Court Justice John Weimer can run for reelection against the wishes of the NAACP and, strangely, Attorney General Jeff Landry. U.S. District Court Judge John deGravelles, for the Middle District of Louisiana, lifted a stay that had […]
Supreme Court blocks judge from drawing Louisiana’s congressional map
Just one day before a federal judge planned to enact a new congressional map with two majority-Black districts in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of her ruling. It means the map that will be used for this fall’s elections is the version Republican legislative leaders created that the judge ruled was racially […]
‘It’s basically a race’: 3 courts consider future of Louisiana’s congressional districts
The legal battle to determine the boundaries of Louisiana’s congressional districts is now taking place simultaneously at all three levels of the federal judiciary, and the parties involved are fighting on multiple fronts. The decision comes down to whether Black voters will hold a majority in one or two of the state’s six U.S. House […]
Lawmakers bank on single redistricting proposal as court deadline looms
The Louisiana Legislature advanced a single redistricting bill Friday that might comply with a federal court order to add a second majority-Black district to the state’s congressional map. Lawmakers have just three days left to pass a map that complies with the Voting Rights Act. The Senate redistricting committee moved Senate Bill 3, filed by […]
GOP lawmakers invoke ‘precedent’ to stall on 2nd Black congressional district
A proposed Louisiana congressional map with two majority Black districts failed to advance Thursday from a state Senate committee after Republicans insisted on honoring a procedural tradition of letting the bill lay over for 24 hours. The time element is critical because the Legislature faces a federal judge’s Monday deadline to approve such a map […]
Speaker gives Louisiana House day off while asking judge for more redistricting time
Update: Judge Shelly Dick denied the request of legislative leaders for more time to submit new congressional districts. The Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives is giving members the day off Thursday despite complaints he will take to a federal judge that there’s not enough time to redraw Louisiana’s congressional districts to meet a […]
Special session might see few changes to GOP-drawn maps
Louisiana lawmakers will convene Wednesday for what amounts to a court-ordered special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts. But Republican lawmakers, who adopted the map in February that retained just one majority-Black district, could well stick with that composition and let the case progress — perhaps up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices have already […]
Special redistricting session appears on after 5th Circuit removes stay
A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans lifted its stay Sunday of a lower court’s ruling that found Louisiana’s congressional map was racially gerrymandered. It means a revised version of the U.S. districts is due to the federal court in one week while appellate judges decide the merits of the case. The U.S. 5th […]
Special session remains in place pending further 5th Circuit ruling
Gov. John Bel Edwards has so far declined to rescind his call for the Louisiana Legislature to convene a special session next week to redraw the state’s congressional districts that a federal judge ruled Monday were racially gerrymandered. Legislative leaders want the governor to call off the session after winning a temporary stay of the […]
Gov. Edwards calls lawmakers into special session after court rejects redistricting map
Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday called the Louisiana Legislature into a special session to redraw the state’s congressional redistricting map that a federal judge ruled unlawful for limiting representation of the state’s one-third Black population to just one of its six U.S. House districts. Edwards’ proclamation calls for the session to begin June 15 […]
Federal court rejects Louisiana congressional map
A federal judge has struck down Louisiana’s congressional redistricting map that state lawmakers adopted earlier this year. In a ruling issued Monday in Robinson v. Ardoin, Judge Shelly Dick found the Legislature violated the Voting Rights Act by limiting representation of Louisiana’s one-third Black population to just one of the state’s six U.S. House seats. Legal […]
Do ‘citizens’ or ‘residents’ get to vote in Louisiana? Voters will decide
Louisiana voters will get to decide on a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting in elections. House Bill 178, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, received final passage Friday in the Senate with a 30-1 vote and will be placed on the Dec. 10 ballot for final consideration by Louisiana voters. […]