(The Center Square) — Louisiana must produce new state House and Senate districts within a “reasonable period of time” after a federal judge found they violated the Voting Rights Act.
Baton Rouge-based U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, appointed by President Barack Obama, wrote in her ruling last week in Nairne v. Ardoin that “the preponderance of the evidence establishes that the enacted state house and senate maps crack or pack large and geographically compact minority populations such that Black voters in the challenged districts ‘have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.'”
The case was filed by Black voters, the Louisiana NAACP, and Black Votes Matter against state officials over legislative maps crafted by lawmakers in 2022 they claim illegally dilute Black voting power. Plaintiffs want the state to add six Black majority House districts and three Black majority Senate districts to what’s currently 29 of 105 Black majority districts in the House and 11 of 39 in the Senate.