Republicans advance bills to maintain minority district

BATON ROUGE — Republicans on Senate and House committees voted along party lines Friday to maintain a single majority-minority congressional district in Louisiana, turning back efforts to make it easier for minority residents to elect a second Black congressman.

The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee also voted along party lines to redraw state Senate districts in a way that is likely to leave Black politicians with 11 Senate seats, as they now have, rather than give them a chance to have 13 seats.

The Republican bills will move to the Senate and House floors for further debate.

Civil rights groups have threatened to sue if minorities do not gain further representation in the process.

They also could appeal to Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, to veto any final bills they consider unfair, and legislators would have to mount two-thirds votes to override any veto.

The 2020 Census showed that Louisiana’s minority population had increased over the previous decade while the white population declined slightly. Black residents make up about a third of the state’s population.

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