Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves, who was among the plaintiffs in the congressional map lawsuit that was overturned this week, is pleased with the ruling. His district, the 6th Congressional District, had been altered to be a majority-black one.
A panel will convene on Monday, May 6 to decide the next step for the fall election map. In the meantime, Graves wants to look at ways to improve infrastructure and reduce crime in his district. “I think that’s what important is that we all come together, that we focus on the true needs of Louisiana. And that’s what we’re going to do. If people want to play games, they can play it by themselves.”
Challengers of the new map successfully argued that it amounted to an unconstitutional gerrymander designed specifically with race in mind. But another federal court has already ruled that an earlier map, with only one mostly Black district, likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act. The new ruling likely will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat describes the two-to-one ruling against the map on Tuesday as stunning and incredible. “I don’t know if I can think of enough adjectives to describe the disruption this will cause in Louisiana in our elections this fall.” The Secretary of State’s Office says it needs a map in place by Wednesday, May 15, for the fall election. And with a constitutional convention possibly in the works to begin on Monday, May 20, Pinsonat says there are several complications and multiple twists and turns in the map saga. “That I can’t imagine how all this can take place in a timely fashion to allow us to elect a congressman by the end of this year. It is just utterly amazing that we’re now in this kind of posture with no end in sight to this controversy.”
Qualifying for the fall elections is mid-July. State Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement that she’s still reviewing the ruling and the state plans to appeal to the State Supreme Court.
Louisiana’s Congressional Map Rejection Fuels Election Questions, Confusion
