Louisiana East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council Redistricting Challenge

Lawsuit filed by five Black members of the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council and two residents against the East Baton Rouge Parish, city of Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Board of Election Supervisors, several local election officials and Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry (R) challenging the metro council’s map under the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs allege that the metro council’s white majority passed a map with seven majority-white districts that packed nearly 70% of the parish’s Black voters into three of the metro council’s districts to create a new majority-white metro council district. The plaintiffs argue this unfairly dilutes the political power of Black East Baton Rouge voters, in violation of Section 2 of the VRA. They also argue the map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs ask the court to block the current map and adopt a redistricting plan that includes six opportunity districts for Black voters.

The plaintiffs filed their complaint on June 26, 2024.

STATUS: On Sept. 5, 2024, the judge dismissed the board of election supervisors and local election officials as defendants in this case. Litigation is ongoing.

Last updated: November 20, 2024 1:39 pm EST