Majority Black Louisiana District Not Settled

When it seemed that African American voters had been awarded a second majority congressional voting district, this reporter said that the war was not over, it was only beginning. A lawsuit recently filed by non-African voters was filed against a map outlining the new Black district was rejected by a three federal judge panel citing/agreeing with the group that filed the lawsuit that the map amounted to "constitutional racial gerrymandering" that discriminated against white voters who are represented in Congress by Garrett Graves. Now it seems that legislators are back to square 1 to come up with a map that will meet legal mustard by a May 15 deadline imposed by Louisiana that would comply by the state so voters can vote in the 2024 fall elections. If the rejected map had remained in force, there was the possibility that Greene could lose his seat against a Black opponent in a newly created majority Black district. That would have given Louisiana 4 majority white districts instead of five, while protecting its most senior representatives in Steve Scalise, Julia Letlow and Mike Johnson. Gov. Jeff Landry was in favor of the map that might have ousted Graves because Graves supported a rival against Landry in the governor's race, suggesting that the new map was more about politics than race. The U, S. Supreme Court may have to finally settle the matter.