Supreme Court takes up Louisiana racial gerrymandering dispute [View all]
Source: NBC News
Supreme Court takes up Louisiana racial gerrymandering dispute
Litigation over the consideration of race in drawing congressional districts has seen the state sued from left and right.
Nov. 4, 2024, 9:36 AM EST
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide a thorny legal dispute from Louisiana involving the state's effort to draw a congressional district map while navigating claims it is unlawfully considering race. ... The case has no immediate impact on this year's elections in the state, which is using a map that includes two majority black districts out of six. ... During the course of drawing a map based on 2020 census data, the Republican-led state has been sued from two directions.
One lawsuit claimed that the state had to draw a map containing two majority Black districts to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act. But once that case was resolved with a victory for the civil rights plaintiffs, the state's new map that was drawn to comply with that finding was challenged by a group of "non-African American" voters who said it violated the Constitution's 14th Amendment by discriminating against them.
A federal court struck the new map down, but with time running out to finalize the congressional districts before this year’s elections, state officials successfully asked the Supreme Court to put the lower court decision on hold in May. ... In the latest case, the state's Republican leadership has unlikely allies in the form of the civil rights plaintiffs who originally sued to ensure a second majority Black district.
Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga wrote in court papers that the state is "stuck in an endless game of ping-pong" that needs to be resolved. If not, "the state will be sued again no matter what it does," he added. ... The state argues in part that it should have leeway to draw districts on partisan grounds to protect incumbents, which include House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican.
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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-takes-louisiana-racial-gerrymandering-dispute-rcna175596
Hat tip, the CBS radio news at 11:00 a.m.
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