Supreme Court Greenlights Louisiana’s Congressional Map with Two Majority-Black Districts

Washington, D.C. – In a significant ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court has allowed Louisiana to proceed with a congressional map that introduces two majority-Black districts for this year’s elections. This decision comes after an emergency request by an unusual coalition of Republican state officials and civil rights groups, who argued that the recent lower court decision invalidating the map needed to be halted to prevent electoral disarray. The state had emphasized the urgency of finalizing the map to meet bureaucratic deadlines.

The high court’s conservative majority moved forward with allowing the map, while the three liberal justices, led by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented. Justice Jackson highlighted that there was still ample time to address the legal issues raised and craft a map that could serve all communities fairly without risking voter confusion.

This map has been at the center of contentious litigation, especially after last year’s Supreme Court ruling that bolstered the Voting Rights Act, leading to a redrawn map that aimed to rectify racial discrimination evident in Alabama’s congressional districts.

However, the redrawn map faced another legal challenge from a group of plaintiffs identified as “non-African American,” who argued that creating a second majority-Black district constituted racial discrimination under the 14th Amendment. A federal court agreed with this claim and struck down the map, but with the electoral process looming, the state urged the Supreme Court to intervene to avoid chaos.

Quentin Anthony Anderson, Democratic candidate in the 6th district whose campaign recently released its unfiled amicus brief that argued against any late-stage changes to the map, commented on the ruling, saying, “I am relieved that the Supreme Court has issued a stay regarding the recent 5th Circuit Court ruling on Louisiana’s congressional redistricting. This decision allows the electoral process to proceed under the map established in January, which was designed to ensure fair representation and compliance with the Voting Rights Act.”

Anderson continued, “Our campaign will continue as planned, focusing on reaching voters across the district – from Baton Rouge to Shreveport – discussing critical issues, and building a grassroots movement committed to bringing real change to Louisiana.”

As the state looks towards implementing this map, all eyes will be on how it impacts the upcoming congressional races. Our campaign is gearing up to ensure that voters are well-informed and ready to make their voices heard in an election landscape that continues to evolve.

Stay tuned to our campaign website for more updates and detailed analyses on how this affects our community and how you can get involved in safeguarding our electoral rights.

Anderson Statement on SCOTUS Congressional Map Decision

The following is an official statement from Quentin Anthony Anderson, Democratic candidate for Congress in Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District:

I am relieved that the Supreme Court has issued a stay regarding the recent 5th Circuit Court ruling on Louisiana’s congressional redistricting. This decision allows the electoral process to proceed under the map established in January, which was designed to ensure fair representation and compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

Our campaign will continue as planned, focusing on reaching voters across the district – from Baton Rouge to Shreveport – discussing critical issues, and building a grassroots movement committed to bringing real change to Louisiana.

We are grateful for the opportunity to compete in a relatively stable electoral environment & look forward to a vigorous campaign.

Why We’re Sharing Our Unfiled Supreme Court Brief

Today, I want to share a bit of the behind-the-scenes of our campaign and a challenge we recently faced that speaks volumes about the hurdles grassroots campaigns often encounter.

We crafted an amicus brief to support maintaining the current electoral map in Louisiana’s 6th District amid ongoing legal disputes. This map is crucial for ensuring that this year’s election is fair and voters aren’t left baffled by last-minute changes. Our brief focused on how sudden shifts in district boundaries could confuse voters and disadvantage grassroots campaigns like ours, which don’t have the deep pockets or extensive legal teams that some of our competitors might.

However, we hit a snag.

Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t secure a Supreme Court-qualified attorney in time to file our brief. The reality for a grassroots campaign like ours – running on a shoestring budget – is that accessing such resources isn’t always feasible. Unlike campaigns flush with millions, we operate with what we have, which means we sometimes face limitations that aren’t just financial but also logistical.

Rather than let our hard work sit unseen on a desk, we’ve decided to make our brief public. We believe it’s crucial for everyone to understand how important stable electoral boundaries are for fair elections. You can check out our full argument below — it’s a plea for clarity and fairness, qualities that should define every election but often don’t.

This isn’t just about our campaign. It’s about ensuring that all candidates and voters can engage in a transparent and democratic process, without the goalposts moving unexpectedly. We’re sharing our story and this brief to highlight how critical—and fragile—our democratic processes can be, especially for those of us without endless resources.

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We want to thank Ashley White, Kenneth Barnes, Louisiana Appleseed and countless other invaluable advisors who helped us articulate an argument we think is crucial not only to this campaign, but to our democracy moving forward.