The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is applauding a new congressional map in Louisiana that restores Black political power.
“In a win for Black voters, the Louisiana State Legislature approved a new congressional map which will create a second majority-Black district in the state,” the CBC said in a Tuesday statement. The caucus added that the new map was the result of “a years-long legal fight.”
That fight began after a federal court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map drawn with 2020 census data violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
In 2022, former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) vetoed a set of maps passed by the state Legislature. At the time, Edwards argued the maps violated the Voting Rights Act because there was only one majority-Black district.
Though the veto was overridden by the state Legislature, a federal judge later ordered a new map be drawn with a second majority-Black district.
But the Supreme Court paused the ruling and allowed the map to be used in the 2022 midterms.