Speakers<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
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- <\/i>Ashley Shelton<\/b>, Executive Director, Power Coalition for Equity & Justice<\/li>\n
- Victoria Wenger,<\/b> Counsel at NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)<\/li>\n
- Davante Lewis<\/b>, Public Service Commissioner, LA District 3<\/li>\n
- Alanah Odoms<\/b>, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union-Louisiana (ACLU-LA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nThis case follows closely behind the landmark Allen v. Milligan<\/i> decision in Alabama, in which the Supreme Court upheld protections under Section 2, ruling against the dilution of Black voting power through redistricting.<\/p>\n
The Path to the High Court<\/b><\/h3>\n
Black voters in Louisiana make up about one-third of the state’s population across six congressional districts, making Louisiana the second-Blackest state in the country.<\/p>\n
Plaintiffs in the case argue that this demographic makeup warrants at least two majority-Black districts to ensure fair representation. However, under the 2022 map, only one district had a Black majority, effectively limiting Black voters’ ability to elect candidates who represent their interests, according to Victoria Wenger.<\/p>\n
In a preliminary injunction hearing (basically a mini trial) they \u201cwere able to prove that Section 2 of the VRA was violated, and the court enjoined the legislature to draw a new map,\u201d Wenger said. The court then ordered the legislature to redraw the map. \u201cThey didn\u2019t pass a new fair map \u2026 and while Milligan was still pending, the Supreme Court put our case on pause so that in 2022, a map with only one majority Black district was in place for our congressional elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the Milligan<\/i> ruling in 2023 affirmed the strength of Section 2, the Fifth Circuit gave Louisiana until January 2024 to create a new map. The legislature, now controlled by a Republican supermajority, drew a new map with two majority-Black districts.<\/p>\n
However, a group of white voters sued, claiming the new map violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by prioritizing race over traditional districting principles like geographic shape or community interests.<\/p>\n
Now, the NAACP LDF and its allies are arguing before the Supreme Court that while race was indeed considered in redrawing the districts \u2014 as required by the Voting Rights Act \u2014 it was not the sole or dominant factor. \u201cthe Supreme Court has created an exception where even if they find race is predominant, state legislatures can still prioritize race if they have good reason to believe they have to to comply with the VRA.\u201d Wenger explained, noting that other considerations, such as local geography and political boundaries, also shaped the map.<\/p>\n
The Human Cost of Gerrymandering<\/b><\/h3>\n
Davante Lewis described the broader implications. \u201cWe talk about voter suppression and voter apathy, but like I like to remind people: If we know our vote does not matter because the district is so gerrymandered, why should we participate in the political system?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
He emphasized the importance of activism throughout this process. \u201cIf you would have asked us in January 2021, when we started this process, whether we would have two minority majority districts, we would have said probably not \u2026 but we advocated, we agitated, we litigated, and now we have results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Shelton said community engagement has been essential. Since 2021, her organization has held public listening sessions statewide, leading to record turnout at redistricting hearings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our first session, we heard from a young woman who was the student government president at Dillard University, and she told the legislature that our young people are leaving the state in droves because they cannot trust them to do the right thing,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cIf Black voters thought they could elect a candidate of choice, we know it would impact voter turnout, and there were many arguments throughout this fight where the lawyers said that wasn\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the first election held under the new maps in November 2023, Black voter turnout rose by two percentage points in Louisiana and by five points in Alabama.<\/p>\n
A Turning Point for Voting Rights<\/b><\/h3>\n
Alanah Odoms stressed the stakes. \u201cSixty years after the civil rights movement, here we are, still marching, still fighting, still litigating, because while some things have changed, the struggle for voting rights is far from over,\u201d<\/p>\n
Odoms described the current state of voter suppression as \u201ca boot on the neck of Black voters,\u201d and said the goal is simply to remove that burden, in line with the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Act pertains to every state in the nation,\u201d she said. The Supreme Court\u2019s decision \u201cdetermines how elections will be handled and how districts will be drawn nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the Court rules against the plaintiffs, Odoms warned, it could spark a wave of states ignoring demographic changes that show the nation is growing more racially diverse, in favor of preserving districts that continue to elect white-preferred candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we won at the federal court level already \u2026 an overturning of decades-long precedent would be quite shocking. We feel very confident about the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Images provided by Ethnic Media Services.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On March 24, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a pivotal case out of Louisiana that could reshape the future of voting rights nationwide. The consolidated cases \u2014 Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais \u2014 challenge the congressional map drawn by the Louisiana state legislature in 2024. This map was created after a lower federal…<\/p>\n
- Victoria Wenger,<\/b> Counsel at NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)<\/li>\n