BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana lawmakers have approved a new congressional map designed to adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent guidance on the Voting Rights Act. The map eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black districts and is expected to result in a shift of one House seat to the Republican Party.

The Republican-controlled legislature acted after the Supreme Court ruled that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 only protects against political lines drawn with the intent of discriminating on the basis of race, thus invalidating the previous map. Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, supported the legislature's efforts to redraw the map in accordance with the Court's interpretation, delaying the House primary elections originally scheduled for May 16 to allow for the process to unfold.

The previous congressional map was a product of a 2022 lawsuit that argued Louisiana lawmakers had illegally diluted Black voting power by failing to draw a second majority-Black district, despite Black voters accounting for approximately one-third of the state's population. However, the Supreme Court's ruling shifted the legal landscape, emphasizing the importance of race-neutral principles in redistricting.

Landry, in his executive order delaying the primaries, articulated the principle guiding the redistricting effort: "The best way to end race-based discrimination is to stop making decisions based on race." This reflects a commitment to ensuring equal treatment under the law and avoiding the creation of districts based primarily on racial considerations.

The new map replaces a majority-Black district that stretched from Baton Rouge to Shreveport with a district that encompasses most of New Orleans, extending into predominantly Black neighborhoods in Baton Rouge. This change aims to create a more compact and geographically coherent district, consistent with traditional redistricting principles.

Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields currently represents the Baton Rouge-based district, having won the seat in 2024. He also represented a similar district from 1992 until 1996, when it was dismantled following a federal court decision. Democratic Rep. Troy Carter represents the other majority-Black district, centered around New Orleans. The new map may alter the political dynamics in these districts, reflecting the state's evolving demographics and political landscape.

While some Republicans had initially pushed for a map that would give the GOP the advantage in all six of Louisiana's congressional districts, legislators ultimately opted to eliminate only one majority-Black district. This decision reflects a pragmatic approach, balancing the desire to gain a seat with the need to avoid making other districts held by Republican incumbents too competitive.

Louisiana is one of several Southern states that have redrawn their congressional maps following the Supreme Court ruling. Tennessee has eliminated its sole Democratic-held seat, a majority-Black district in Memphis, and Alabama received court approval to revert to its 2023 map, which also eliminates a largely Black district. Governors in Georgia and Mississippi are also planning to propose redraws of their congressional maps after the midterms.

These redistricting efforts reflect a broader attempt to align congressional districts with constitutional principles and the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Voting Rights Act. The rescheduled Louisiana primaries are now set for November 3, and the new map will be in effect for those elections.