Congressional maps approved by the House and Senate in the redistricting session fail to add a majority-minority Black district and Governor John Bel Edwards calls them problematic. But until they reach his desk Edwards will not say if he will veto them.
“The simple answer to the questions that haven’t been asked yet is, I haven’t made a decision,” said Edwards. “But at the appropriate time, I will certainly let you know. I do remain very concerned about making sure the maps are fair.”
Edwards says the 2020 Census indicates one-third of the state is Black which has changed the state’s demographic makeup from the previous ten years and that a third of all voting districts should reflect that.
The House and Senate have both passed Republican-drawn Congressional maps which maintain one Majority-Minority district. The maps have yet to reach the governor’s desk, from the session that must end by Sunday. Edwards says he does see those maps to have issues when it comes to the Voting Rights Act.
“There you have six districts,” Edwards said. “A third of our population is African-American. And so, if it can be done I believe that we ought to have two of the six districts, one-third of them, being majority African-American districts.”
Edwards says there have been a number of bills and/or amendments presented to show that a second majority-minority district can be done.
“I believe that it should,” said the governor. “And I think it’s right. I think it’s fair. And therefore, it should be done regardless of the Voting Rights Act. But I also believe the Voting Rights Act speaks to this as well.”
The governor says he is hopeful the district maps will be amended to reflect the state’s population appropriately before they reach his desk.
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