The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted a lower court’s order to create a second majority Black congressional District in Louisiana.
The high court’s order was released Tuesday along with the dissents of the three liberal justices. It follows a lower court finding that the newly drawn map of Louisiana’s voting districts for the six U.S. House of Representatives seats would likely violate the Voting rights Act by diluting Black voters.
The justices have stopped drawing a new district for the next term of a related redistricting case involving Alabama’s new congressional map. In October, the court heard oral arguments in the Alabama case. It issued a similar order in February for that state’s map and has now agreed to hear the Louisiana redistricting case.
Like Alabama, Louisiana’s Supreme Court has ordered a delay in midterm elections. This is because maps found by lower courts are likely to harm the power of Black voters will be used.
In Louisiana, the map for this year’s House races has white voters making up the majority in five out of six districts, as approved by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.
