Federal Court Orders Louisiana Legislative Districts Be Redrawn

A federal court ruled Thursday that Louisiana’s state House and Senate district maps dilute black voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act, and has ordered the maps to be redrawn. The ruling by U.S. District Chief Judge Shelly Dick came just weeks after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed on Jan. 22 a bill creating a new congressional map that establishes a second majority-black district. The new map reshapes Louisiana’s 6th District, that of Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), giving it a black population of around 56 percent and making it the state’s second majority-black district. In her ruling on Feb. 8, Ms. Dick said “the Enacted House Map unnecessarily concentrates the Black population into one district while dividing the rest of the Black population into smaller districts.”...