The US Supreme Court is facing a new challenge in a contentious redistricting battle

 

The US Supreme Court is facing a new challenge in a contentious redistricting battle in Louisiana, where civil rights groups are urging the justices to rule against a group of White voters who claim the state legislature violated the Constitution by drawing a second majority-Black district in its congressional map.

The emergency appeal, filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Louisiana NAACP, argues that the lower court's ruling against the map has left Louisiana without a congressional map just months away from the 2024 elections. The groups contend that Black voters have already been compelled to vote on a map that lower courts ruled violated the law, and that the Supreme Court's intervention is needed to prevent further harm.

The case centers on a map drawn by state lawmakers that included a second majority African American district in Louisiana's six-district congressional plan. A conservative-leaning lower court ruled against the map, arguing that it discriminated against White voters. The map was drawn after the 2020 census, which showed that African Americans make up nearly a third of the state's population.

The Supreme Court's decision could have national implications, as it raises fundamental questions about how mapmakers consider race when redrawing congressional boundaries every decade. The court's ruling could also affect control of the US House, given the narrow majority Republicans currently hold in that chamber.

The case is the latest in a series of redistricting battles to reach the Supreme Court, which has been grappling with the issue of how much consideration of race is permissible when drawing political boundaries. In a 5-4 ruling last year, the court found that Alabama's map diluted Black voting power in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Louisiana case has drawn attention from both sides of the political aisle, with Republicans arguing that the map is a racial gerrymander and Democrats contending that it is a necessary step to address historic and systemic racism. The Supreme Court's decision is expected to be closely watched, as it could have far-reaching implications for the redistricting process and the representation of minority communities in Congress.