Eric Holder Statement on SCOTUS Keeping Louisiana’s VRA-Compliant Map in Place
For Immediate Release
May 15, 2024
Contact
Madia Coleman
coleman@redistrictingfoundation.org
Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Louisiana’s Voting Rights Act (VRA)-compliant map to remain in place while a lower court’s decision, Callais v. Landry wrongly striking down the map, is appealed. As a result, Black Louisianians, who make up about one-third of the state’s population, will have the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in two of the state’s six congressional districts in the 2024 election.
“The Voting Rights Act, the crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement, remains absolutely necessary to protect the constitutional rights of the American people, particularly communities of color. With today’s stay, the U.S. Supreme Court has acted in a manner that is consistent with its decision last year in Allen v. Milligan in making real the power of Section 2,” said Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. “This is an unequivocal victory for Black Louisianians, who have fought tenaciously for the equal representation they deserve as American citizens. The state, consistent with the law, will now have a second Black opportunity district in its congressional map this fall. It is also a clear message to those who intend to gerrymander in order to increase their illegitimate power at the expense of voters of color: you will be stopped.”
The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, is continuing to provide financial support and direct the litigation strategy for a set of VRA litigants in this case and submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in support of the Galmon Intervenors in Callais v. Landry, asking the Court to keep Louisiana’s Voting Rights Act-compliant map in place while an appeal is underway to reverse a lower court’s decision to block Louisiana’s new, fair, congressional map. In 2022, the NRF initiated Galmon v. Ardoin, which was then consolidated with Robinson v. Ardoin, the successful lawsuit that struck down Louisiana’s 2022 congressional map for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and led to the enactment of Louisiana’s current Voting Rights Act-compliant map in January 2024, which includes two Black opportunity districts.
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