State Attorney General Anne Lopez and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the latitude of states to redraw legislative maps in response to likely violations of laws governing legislative redistricting.

What You Need To Know

  • The coalition filed an amicus brief Friday in the case of Louisiana v. Callais, supporting the state of Louisiana and a group of Louisiana voters seeking to uphold a proposed congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts
  • The issue stems from a 2022 ruling by a federal court in the Middle District of Louisiana that the state’s congressional map likely diluted the votes of Black residents in violation of the Voting Rights Act
  • The Louisiana legislature enacted a revised map this year that added a second majority-Black district. That resulted in a lawsuit from a group of self-identified “non-African American voters” alleging an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that violated the Equal Protection Clause. That suit was filed in the Western District of Louisiana
  • The brief, which cites numerous legal precedents and relevant rulings, argues that the Constitution allows states “breathing room” to enact legislative maps that address likely VRA violations. It also calls on the court to reject a competing amicus brief filed by Alabama and a dozen other states that argues the initial 2022 ruling was based on an incorrect interpretation of the applicable law

 

The coalition filed an amicus brief Friday in the case of Louisiana v. Callais. The brief supports the state of Louisiana and a group of Louisiana voters seeking to uphold a proposed congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts.

The issue stems from a 2022 ruling by a federal court in the Middle District of Louisiana that the state’s congressional map likely diluted the votes of Black residents in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

In response, the Louisiana legislature enacted a revised map this year that added a second majority-Black district. That resulted in a lawsuit from a group of self-identified “non-African American voters” alleging an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that violated the Equal Protection Clause. That suit was filed in the Western District of Louisiana.

The court barred the state from implementing the new map, thereby “trapping Louisiana between competing court orders and undermining the state’s ability to craft legislative districts that comply with federal voting rights law,” according to the coalition.

“The Voting Rights Act gives every state the responsibility to draw fair and representative congressional districts,” said state deputy solicitor general Thomas Hughes. “Louisiana followed the law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it created a second majority-Black district in the state for the first time in decades. The Court should reject this challenge to Louisiana’s new map, as well as any efforts to further weaken the effectiveness of the VRA.”

The brief, which cites numerous legal precedents and relevant rulings, argues that the Constitution allows states “breathing room” to enact legislative maps that address likely VRA violations. It also calls on the court to reject a competing amicus brief filed by Alabama and a dozen other states that argues the initial 2022 ruling was based on an incorrect interpretation of the applicable law.

The brief was signed by Lopez and the attorneys general for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.