Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) late Wednesday vetoed new congressional district maps advanced by the Republican-controlled state legislature, potentially throwing another state mapmaking process to the courts.
In a statement announcing his decision, Edwards said he thought the maps did not accurately reflect the makeup of Louisiana, a state where almost 33 percent of residents are Black.
Only one of the six districts drawn by Republican legislators would have had a Black-majority population. Edwards said he vetoed the map because it did not include a second majority Black district, after a decade in which Louisiana’s Black population grew and its white population decreased.
“This map is simply not fair to the people of Louisiana and does not meet the standards set forth in the federal Voting Rights Act,” Edwards said. “The Legislature should immediately begin the work of drawing a map that ensures Black voices can be properly heard in the voting booth. It can be done and it should be done.”
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