BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — On Tuesday, The U.S. Supreme Court took up the case of the congressional maps for Alabama, which will have major implications for the Voting Rights Act and Louisiana’s case that awaits a hearing. Advocates rallied at the state capitol to push for a second majority-minority district.
The Republican majority of the Louisiana Legislature voted to pass congressional maps that kept only one majority-minority district, anchored both in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The case, if it violated the Voting Rights Act now rests with the U.S. Supreme Court. Advocates at home are continuing their push for the map to be overturned.
“No matter what the United States Supreme Court does or attempts to do, we will keep fighting for justice because we know that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” said Attorney Alfreda Tillman Bester.
The Louisiana GOP argued creating two majority-minority districts would have too slim of margins for a minority candidate to be elected. The law only requires a district to be 50%+1 to be considered a majority-minority. Advocates argue the maps do not need to ensure a Black candidate is elected, but rather provide the opportunity to elect one.
“It will not just impact our ability to vote for the people that we want to. Rather than people choosing who their voters will be. But these are decisions that will impact our children and our grandchildren,” said Raymond Jetson, Chief Executive Catalyst of Metromorphosis.
With the latest census showing about a third of the state’s population is Black, advocates believe a third of the congressional seats need to be minority-majority.
It’ll be months before a decision is made on the Alabama case and when we will know when the Louisiana maps will be in front of the Supreme Court.
