What a new Black-majority district in Louisiana might look like following Supreme Court's go-ahead

Following Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that un-froze a lower court decision ordering Louisiana to draw a new congressional map, the state is back on track to add a second district where Black voters will be likely to elect their candidate of choice. However, even though the Supreme Court said it expected that the case would be reviewed “in advance of the 2024 congressional elections,” the notoriously conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will have the opportunity to slow-walk a resolution, potentially preventing Black voters from vindicating their rights for yet another election cycle.

Last year, it was the Supreme Court that stymied Black voters. A federal district court judge ruled in June that Republican lawmakers in Louisiana had likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to create a second congressional district that would allow Black voters to elect their preferred candidates and instructed the state to correct the problem. But just before the court could implement a remedial map in time for the midterms, the Supreme Court put the case on hold pending the outcome of a closely related Alabama lawsuit.