Supreme Court to hear Louisiana congressional map dispute

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — The U.S. Supreme Court will hold a hearing this week regarding the congressional maps of Louisiana.

The court will hear arguments in the case of Callais v. Louisiana. This case originates from a dispute in 2022 regarding a congressional map. At that time, a group of Black voters filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming that the map violated the federal Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate based on race or color.

A federal district court sided with the black voters and barred the state from using the map for future elections. The Louisiana legislature would later draw a new map in 2024 known as S.B. 8, which created a second majority-Black district, but a group of non-black voters argued that the same congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, which weakens or suppresses the voting power of a specific racial group.

The court will hear arguments from both sides to determine if a state can violate the 14th or 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution when drawing election maps to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 15.