Louisiana lawmakers must redraw maps, come up with second majority-minority district

[Nevilledog]

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https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_6811742e-e5e2-11ec-aa09-2b81c381c9e8.html

A federal judge has ordered Louisiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature, which overpowered the state’s Democratic governor to enact a congressional map favorable to the GOP, to redraw the map to add a second majority-Black district.

The ruling by Chief Judge Shelly Dick, of the U.S. Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, blocks Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin – the defendant in the case – from holding congressional elections under the new map drawn by the GOP lawmakers earlier this year.

The ruling delivered a victory to the governor, voting rights groups and Democrats who fought to get another majority-Black district, which would be drawn to connect parts of Baton Rouge to Mississippi Delta parishes in north Louisiana.

But the win could be short-lived. Republican legislative leaders expressed confidence the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is stacked with conservative judges, will swiftly move to block the ruling by Dick, an appointee of President Barack Obama. Ardoin, along with Republican legislative leaders and Attorney General Jeff Landry, both of whom intervened in the case, had already appealed the case by the close of business Monday.

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