Today, LDF and coalition partners sent a letter to the Louisiana House and Senate regarding HB1, SB5, and SB20. These proposed redistricting plans run afoul of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because they fail to provide Black voters with an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice. The letter strongly urges legislators to reject these proposals and consider some of the alternative proposals that would not violate Section 2, including, among others, HB5, HB8, HB9, HB12, SB2, SB4, SB6, SB9, SB10, SB11, and SB18.
HB1, SB5 and SB20 perpetuate the severe under-representation of Black voters in Louisiana’s Congressional delegation. These proposals only provide one district in which Black voters have any
opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. As a result, Black Louisianans—who comprise over 33% of Louisiana’s population—would only have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in one out of six of Louisiana’s congressional districts.
The congressional maps proposed in HB1, SB5, and SB20 disregard the mandates of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The Louisiana State Legislature has an affirmative obligation to comply with Section 2. Several other proposals have been presented to the Louisiana legislature, including HB5, HB8, HB9, HB12, SB2, SB4, SB6, SB9, SB10, SB11, and SB18, that would comply with Section 2 by including a second majority-Black district. LDF urges the legislature to strongly consider one of these proposed bills that include a second majority-Black district.
Read the full letter here.
LDF has been closely monitoring the redistricting processes in Louisiana and other key states to prevent discriminatory redistricting plans and ensure that legislatures comply with their obligations under the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. Read more about LDF’s redistricting work here.
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Follow LDF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
