Federal District Court Strikes Down Gerrymandered Congressional Map

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Jena Doyle
Doyle@redistrictingfoundation.org

Federal District Court Strikes Down Gerrymandered Congressional Map

Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana blocked the state from using the  newly-enacted congressional map and ordered a new map that includes an additional majority-Black district be drawn by June 20. Black Louisianians comprise over one third of the population in the state, yet the state legislature enacted a map with only one majority-Black district out of a total of six. 

Today’s decision was a result of a National Redistricting Foundation (NRF)-supported lawsuit, Galmon v. Ardoin, filed in March 2022 by Louisiana voters who asked the court to declare that the state legislature’s congressional map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and to order the enactment of a new congressional plan that includes two majority-Black congressional districts.

“This decision is a win for Louisianians, especially Black Louisianians who have been denied the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice to Congress,” said John Bisognano, NRF Executive Director. “By ordering a new map ahead of the November midterms, the court is rightfully giving all Louisiana voters the ability to have their votes count equally. Black Louisianians deserve to be heard and they deserve a congressional map that accurately reflects their voting power in the state. With Black Louisianians representing more than one third of the state’s population, it is fair that one third of the state’s congressional districts should be majority-Black districts.” 

The full opinion can be found here. 

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