Governor John Bel Edwards has called for a special session to begin June 15th after a federal judge rejected the Congressional Redistricting Map the Legislature approved in February. Research Director with the Public Affairs Research Council Melinda Deslatte says the judge issued a June 20th deadline for a redrawn map that must have two majority-minority districts.
“And if they don’t do it by then, the court will step in and figure out how to draw a different map,” said Deslatte.
The six-day special session must end by 6 PM on Monday, June 20th.
Edwards initially vetoed the map lawmakers passed but the veto was overridden, and the map ended up in court. Deslatte said Monday’s judgment has Republicans who approved the map seeking alternatives.
“But meanwhile the attorney general and the legislature will be appealing that ruling to the Fifth Circuit and they’re also asking for a stay of that ruling so that they don’t have to come in that quickly and redraw a new map,” said Deslatte.
Deslatte said it was an ending to a regular session that she’s never seen before in Louisiana and with the deadline less than two weeks away it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen.
“It’s sort of unchartered territory, we don’t really know what this looks like, we don’t really know what’s going to happen, we don’t know if there’s really going to be a special session if the circuit will stop that from happening. It’s all very uncertain at the moment,” said Deslatte.
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