In March 2022, LDF filed a lawsuit challenging discriminatory redistricting maps passed by the Louisiana legislature. The lawsuit argues that the maps dilute the voting power of Black Louisianans and violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to add a second majority-Black district. The maps severely dilute Black voting power by packing Black voters from New Orleans and Baton Rouge into a single U.S. congressional district. The maps were vetoed by Louisiana Governor Bel Edwards, but the legislature voted to overturn the veto.
LDF, the ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf of 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.
On June 6, 2022, the maps were blocked by a federal judge who ruled that the map was racially discriminatory and likely violated the Voting Rights Act, and a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans agreed. The ruling required legislators to draw a new map with two majority-Black districts to be used during upcoming elections, while litigation continues.
On June 28, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Louisiana’s bid to temporarily halt a district court ruling, and reinstated the discriminatory maps for the upcoming election season.