Questions of constitutionality in the Pelican State
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The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday over the Louisiana redistricting process, which led to the state hosting two Black districts. But the decade's final map may yet to be decided.
So far the process has led to the revival of a congressional district that was declared unconstitutional in 1994, which is a seat stretching all the way from Baton Rouge to Shreveport that effectively cuts through the middle of House Speaker Mike Johnson's 4th District.
Ironically, the member negatively affected when the seat was declared unconstitutional 30-plus years ago, then-Rep. Cleo Fields (D), is also the beneficiary of the current draw. Mr. Fields, after serving two terms in the House, would later be elected to the state Senate, a body from which he served prior to his election to Congress. Once the same previously rejected congressional district configuration returned to the Louisiana map in 2023, it was again Mr. Fields who would run for the re-created 6th District and once more enter the US House of Representatives.
When the original 2021 congressional map was adopted, the partisan division again favored the GOP by a 5-1 count. Democratic plaintiffs went to a favorable federal district court in Baton Rouge to file their case, and the Middle District Chief Judge, Shelly Dick, an appointee of President Barack Obama, as predicted ruled in their favor. The map was returned to the legislature for a redraw with the instruction to craft a second Black district. The new map forced then-Rep. Garret Graves (R) to retire, which virtually assured Mr. Fields of returning to Congress.
Republicans then filed a constitutional challenge to the new 6th District, citing the court rejection of such a draw in 1994, and a three judge federal panel constituted to hear the case ruled in favor of the GOP plaintiffs and declared the map a gerrymander, just as was determined 30 years earlier.
The ruling was then sent to the Supreme Court where a summary affirmation of the lower court ruling was expected. In a surprise pre-election ruling, however, the high court stayed the case with the six Republican justices voting in favor of the stay and the three Democrats opposing. The stay cost the Republicans a seat, and almost the party's small majority.
Yesterday's hearing featured a long, very active, and at times intense session with even Justice Elena Kagan jumping in to answer a question from Justice Sam Alito before the presenting attorney could answer, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh asking whether the time had come to "sunset the Voting Rights Act."
Unless the court now decides to summarily affirm the three judge panel ruling, which they can still do, we can expect a final decision on this case at the end of the session in June. Regardless of how the court rules, it will affect the 2026 congressional elections and also the House majority because of the slim 220-215 eventual edge the Republicans will likely hold once the vacancies are filled barring any special election upsets.
If the court rules in favor of the current state map, Democrats will hold their second seat in the Louisiana delegation. If the high court ultimately upholds the three judge panel ruling then the state's plan will become void and the map would return to the panel for a redraw, assuming the legislature does not step in and issue an alternative congressional plan.
Should the legislature not take action, and it's unlikely they will be in session when SCOTUS decides the case, the three judge panel will draw a new map that will probably lead to a GOP gain of one seat. Such a move would likely return the delegation to a 5R-1D split along with returning Speaker Johnson to a more compact and undivided district.
Once again, Louisiana is in the forefront of a redistricting drama battle. It remains to be seen how this chapter ultimately ends.
Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.
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