Louisiana Voters File Impasse Lawsuit with the Support of the National Redistricting Action Fund
Contact
Jena Doyle
doyle@redistrictingaction.org
Louisiana Voters File Impasse Lawsuit with the Support of the National Redistricting Action Fund
Washington, D.C. — In a petition to the Civil District Court in East Baton Rouge filed yesterday, voters supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF) are asking the court to establish a process to ensure that new congressional district lines are in place ahead of the 2022 elections, after the legislature’s proposed map was vetoed by Governor Edwards.
Current dynamics make it clear that Louisiana’s political branches have failed to reach a consensus and enact a lawful congressional district plan during the special legislative session on redistricting and in a timely manner for the 2022 election cycle. Also known as “impasse litigation,” the purpose of this lawsuit is to ask the court to create new maps that reflect the state’s population changes and create districts composed of roughly equal number of people, allowing the 2022 election cycle to continue as scheduled.
“Louisiana needs a fair congressional map, and it has become obvious that for an appropriate map to be enacted in a timely manner the court must step in to produce it,” said Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. “Instead of pursuing a fair map, the Louisiana Legislature arrogantly chose to endorse an unjust status quo, passing a map that continues to dilute the voting power of black Louisianans and keeps them from having legally mandated representation in Congress. Governor Edwards’ veto this week was necessary to protect free and fair elections in Louisiana.
“The court must now step in and establish a schedule that will enable it to adopt a remedial congressional plan based on 2020 Census data. Louisiana voters deserve the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice—in this cycle—with districts drawn to reflect the diverse make-up of the state,” continued Holder.
The 2020 Census showed that Louisiana's congressional districts are no longer balanced to meet the federal one-person, one-vote requirement and the Legislature and Governor have failed to reach a consensus to remedy the population imbalance. Because the Legislature lacks the voters necessary to override a veto, there is no prospect that Louisiana’s political branches will enact a new congressional plan in time for the 2022 elections.
Governor Edwards has publicly stated his view that Louisiana’s Black citizens should be able to elect their representative of choice in two of the state’s six congressional districts. In HB1 and SB5, however, Black voters comprise a majority of only one district—CD-2—and are held below 33 percent of the population in every other district. Given this fundamental disagreement between the Governor and Legislature about how congressional districts should be drawn, there is no basis to expect them to reach an agreement on a congressional plan.
You can view the full petition here.
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