Louisiana GOP Passes New Congressional Map—Blocking Veto From Democratic Governor Who Said It Underrepresents Black Voters

Topline

Louisiana’s legislature on Wednesday completed its first successful veto override in decades, as Republicans pushed through a new congressional map Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards shot down for underrepresenting the state’s Black population, leaving just four more states that haven’t drawn maps in this year’s redistricting process.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) speaks on July 28, 2020 at a news conference in Baton Rouge, … [+] Louisiana. (Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP, Pool)

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Key Facts

The state House voted 72-31 to override Edwards’ veto, while the Senate voted 27-11—just enough in both chambers to reach the two-thirds threshold required for an override.

The new congressional map is extremely similar to the state’s old map, with only one of the six districts having a majority Black population.

Edwards instead wanted a map with two majority-Black districts, which he argued would better represent the nearly one-in-three Louisiana residents who are Black.

The map is expected to face a legal challenge, according to the Advocate, meaning Louisiana could soon join 15 other states where maps have been completed but are in litigation.

Only Maryland, New Hampshire, Florida and Missouri still haven’t at least approved a new map, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Crucial Quote

“It speaks so poorly of us, collectively, what transpired today,” Edwards said at a briefing after the override, adding he believes it’s “obvious” the state should have to go through federal preclearance during redistricting.

Key Background

The completed maps around the country have a common theme of removing formerly competitive seats in both primarily Republican and Democratic states, leading to accusations of gerrymandering from both sides. Southern states, which have Republican-controlled state legislatures but large Black populations that traditionally vote Democratic, have especially come under criticism from voting rights advocates, who argue not enough majority-Black districts are being drawn. A challenge against Alabama’s congressional map arguing it underrepresented Black residents made it all the way to the Supreme Court last month, but the court in a 5-4 decision overruled a lower court order telling the state to redraw its map to better represent the Black population. Conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued in a concurring opinion it would be inappropriate for a map to be redrawn with so little time before the midterm elections.

Tangent

A 2013 Supreme Court decision struck down the Voting Rights Act’s federal preclearance mandate, which required certain states with a history of discrimination, like Louisiana and Alabama, to get Justice Department approval before making any changes involving voting, including the redistricting process.

What To Watch For

Republicans are favored to take control of both the House and Senate as a result of the 2022 midterms. A polling average from RealClearPolitics shows Republican candidates ahead of Democrats by 3.6 percentage points on a generic ballot.