The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning on Louisiana’s congressional map that could have a profound effect on the Voting Rights Act across the country. At issue is the creation of the state’s second majority Black district. Janai Nelson, the head of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, says a third of the state’s eligible voters are Black, therefore Black voters in two of the state’s six Congressional districts should have the ability to elect the candidate of their choice.
“Louisiana’s creation of a district to remedy that discrimination, and to ensure that Black Louisianans have an equal opportunity to participate in the process, is constitutional,” Nelson said.
Nelson says the creation of the state’s second majority Black congressional district was not done with the purpose of achieving a certain outcome.
“We measure voting based on race for purposes of Section 2, because the Constitution forbids race discrimination in voting, not party discrimination,” Nelson explained.
But Solicitor General Ben Aguinaga argued for the State of Louisiana and says race should not be the main factor in determining the districts of a Congressional map.
“It requires striking enough members of the majority race to sufficiently diminish their voting strength. And it requires drawing in enough members of a minority race to sufficiently augment their voting strength,” Aguinaga explained.
Aguinaga rejects Nelson’s assertion that the creation of a second majority Black district was done without regard to political preference.
“They assume, for example, that a black voter, simply because he is black, must think like other black voters, share the same interests, and prefer the same political candidates,” Aguinaga said.
While the Supreme Court normally issues its rulings in June, the court is expected to rule on this case in the next two to three months, so that if a new map needs to be drawn, it can be done in time for the 2026 elections.
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