Federal Appeals Court Affirms Louisiana’s Congressional Map is Discriminatory
NEW ORLEANS – The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today agreed with a lower court that the congressional map enacted by the Louisiana Legislature following the 2020 census is discriminatory and likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act.
The decision comes after the Supreme Court upheld the Voting Rights Act in a similar case in Alabama and nearly 18 months after court proceedings in which Black Louisianians and civil rights groups presented their case for enjoining the map.
The appeals court set out a timeline for the state Legislature to adopt a new map by May 2024. If it does not do so or if it adopts a map that continues to violate the Voting Rights Act, the Fifth Circuit’s decision instructs the lower court to promptly conduct a trial and adopt an appropriate remedial map.
The decision is the latest development in Robinson v. Ardoin, a lawsuit that argues that Louisiana’s congressional map dilutes the voting power of Black Louisianians and violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to provide Black voters an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice in a second Louisiana congressional district. Plaintiffs argue that the Voting Rights Act requires that a new district is drawn before the 2024 and future election cycles.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2022 by the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, and individuals Press Robinson, Dorothy Nairne, E. René Soulé, Alice Washington, and Clee Ernest Lowe.
The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana, Legal Defense Fund, Harvard Election Law Clinic, Louisiana attorneys John Adcock and Tracie Washington, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Black Louisianians make up nearly one-third of the voting-age population in the state yet are severely underrepresented in the state’s congressional map, which packed Black voters from the two largest and majority-Black cities in the state, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, into a single congressional district.
That district also came about as a result of Voting Rights Act litigation and in response to a court order. Prior to that earlier litigation, no Black person had been elected to Congress from Louisiana since Reconstruction.
“This decision means that Louisiana should have a second majority Black congressional district. The court was also very clear that this matter must be resolved by next May so that a map that is compliant with the Voting Rights Act will be in place for the November 2024 election,” said Sarah Brannon, deputy director with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
“Black voters and their voices matter – they have always mattered,” said Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “Today’s ruling has strengthened our resolve to continue the fight for fair maps that affirm the fundamental voting rights of our community.”
“Today’s outcome affirms the fundamental right of Black Louisianians, whose voting power has continually and severely been diluted, to fully engage and participate in the political process and confirms that Louisiana’s congressional map likely violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” said Kathryn Sadasivan, LDF assistant counsel. “The Fifth Circuit decision indicates that Black Louisianians are entitled to elect their candidates of choice in two congressional districts, and in time for the 2024 elections.”
“For more than a generation, Black voters in Louisiana have been packed into a single congressional district that dilutes our voting power,” said Mike McClanahan, president of the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP. “It is time for our votes to be fairly counted, and our voices to be heard. Today’s decision pushes the state closer to enacting a congressional map with two majority Black districts that truly accounts for all of us.”
“At every step of the redistricting process, Black Louisianians have fought hard for our communities’ right to be fully represented,” said Ashley Shelton, president and CEO of Power Coalition. “The people of Louisiana deserve to be a part of a fair political process that works for all, not just some. We look forward to continuing to advocate for voters as they push for a fair map.”
Ruling: /documents/order-robinson-v-ardoin-nov-10-2023
This case is part of the ACLU’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket.
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
-
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Voting Rights
Election Day is Over. Why is the Electoral College Voting Now?Election Day is Over. Why is the Electoral College Voting Now?
The Electoral College meets December 17th to certify the results of the 2024 election, but why? The ACLU breaks down if the process is worth keeping. -
New York Supreme CourtDec 2024
Voting Rights
New York Communities for Change v. Nassau CountyNew York Communities for Change v. Nassau County
This case in New York state court centers on the landmark John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York (NYVRA) and the New York Municipal Home Rule Law (MHRL). The NYVRA, like several other state voting rights acts enacted in recent years, expands upon the federal Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial vote dilution. The MHRL prohibits racial discrimination and partisan gerrymandering in local-level redistricting. The ACLU’s Voting Rights Project and State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the New York Civil Liberties Union, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Steptoe LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of voters of color in Nassau County, New York alleging that a redistricting plan implemented in 2023 for Nassau County’s legislative districts dilutes the voting strength of Black, Latino, and Asian residents and is gerrymandered for partisan advantage in violation of the NYVRA and the MHRL. -
ArizonaNov 2024
Voting Rights
American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona v. RicherAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Arizona v. Richer
We sued elections officials in Arizona to extend the mail ballot “cure” deadline after ballot processing delays threatened to disenfranchise thousands of voters without notice. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
Voting Rights
Civil Rights Groups Respond to Flawed Trial Court Opinion on New York Voting Rights ActCivil Rights Groups Respond to Flawed Trial Court Opinion on New York Voting Rights Act
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — On November 7, a New York State Supreme Court trial judge issued an opinion striking down the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York (NYVRA). Today, the Legal Defense Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York American Civil Liberties Union, and Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law issued the following statement in response to the ruling: “The NYVRA is unquestionably constitutional, and protects the freedom to vote for all New Yorkers by helping to ensure voters are not subjected to discrimination when participating in the political process. “The Nov. 7 decision by a state trial judge is deeply flawed and plainly incorrect. We fully expect the decision to be reversed on appeal. It flies in the face of basic legal principles and constitutes a stunning overreach in striking down the entire law, including provisions that are not at issue in the case. “To put it simply, the NYVRA does not discriminate, it bans discrimination – and in doing so protects New Yorkers’ most fundamental right. “New York is stronger when everyone has an equal opportunity to vote.”