Louisiana is given until June 3 to redraw its congressional map to address concerns about racial gerrymandering.
Simultaneously, the court is arranging a timetable for suggestions of a potential new congressional plan for its review, should the court itself have to create one.
"Consequently, if the Louisiana Legislature doesn't enact a fresh map by June 3, 2024, the Court plans to mandate the use of a provisional remedial Congressional redistricting map on June 4, 2024," the court declared on Tuesday. Notably, the court may enlist a redistricting expert to support this task.
The latest development in the intricate conflict surrounding the congressional map, with potential effects on who controls the U.S. House next year, stems from a hearing at a Louisiana federal court.
A map drawn up by Louisiana's legislature following the 2020 census was deemed as potentially discriminatory against Black citizens, according to a different federal court last year. The map had just a single majority-Black district despite encompassing one-third of Louisiana's population being Black.
The legislature devised a new map in 2022, aiming to create a second majority-Black district from the total of six planned. However, this map was debated by several voters, a notable group of them being White Republicans, and was terminated by the aforementioned court just last week.
Though Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry stated that a map was necessary by May 15 for conducting elections this year, the Tuesday order pointed out certain statements from the state's attorney in the previous case stating that Louisiana could manage the November elections if they had a map by the end of May.
It's projected that parties involved in this current lawsuit will petition the Supreme Court this week to permit the map adopted earlier this year to be employed for the elections this year.
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The court is considering enlisting a redistricting expert to assist in creating a new congressionalmap if Louisiana fails to do so by June 3. If Louisiana does not enact a new map by the specified date, the court plans to impose a provisional remedial Congressional redistricting map.
Source: edition.cnn.com
