Louisiana redistricting fight heads to full Senate vote

The big picture: The proposal would return Louisiana closer to its 2022 congressional map, before courts ordered lawmakers to create a second majority-Black district.

• Under Republican Sen. Jay Morris' plan, the state would have one majority-Black district stretching from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Most of the district's population would be in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
• Fields' current district, which snakes across north and central Louisiana under the current map, would be significantly redrawn to have a white majority and different parishes.

Catch up quick: A state Senate committee voted 4-3 along party lines overnight Tuesday to approve the map and send it to the full Senate.

• They killed a map that had two "opportunity" districts after hearing hours of testimony from residents who supported the proposal.
• If the Senate approves the proposed map Thursday, it will head to a state House committee next week.
• Lawmakers are racing to approve a new congressional map before the legislative session ends June 1.

Zoom in: Morris told the committee early Wednesday that he based the proposed map on political affiliations, population cores, communities of interest and the 2022 map.

• The courts say congressional lines can be drawn to favor political parties but not racial groups, Morris argues.

Yes, but: Critics say that distinction is difficult to separate in Louisiana, where race and partisan affiliation often overlap.

• Historically, white residents in Southern states lean Republican, while Black residents largely vote for Democrats.

Friction point: Gov. Jeff Landry says a new map is needed before the state can hold U.S. House elections, which he suspended on April 30 after the U.S. Supreme Court's Callais decision.

• He says he is following the Supreme Court ruling to remove race as a factor.
• Opponents argue the proposal isn't an accurate reflection of the state's voters, who are one-third Black. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the U.S.

Between the lines: Louisiana is part of a broader GOP push to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms in states where Republicans control state government.

• The state's leading proposal, like other midterm redistricting efforts in the South, favors Republicans.
• "We may not always have the votes, but we always have our voice," U.S. Rep. Troy Carter told a standing-room-only crowd Monday night at a Democratic town hall at Dillard University.
• Democrats have been responding by packing state Capitol meetings, signing a gubernatorial recall petition, and hosting town halls. A recall petition for Attorney General Liz Murrill was filed Wednesday, too.

How it works: Louisiana gets six voting districts for the U.S. House. See the current map.

• Currently, four are majority-white and represented by white Republicans: Steve Scalise, Mike Johnson, Clay Higgins and Julia Letlow.
• Two are majority-Black and represented by Black Democrats: Carter and Fields.
• Fields' district was added in 2024 in response to a lawsuit from Black voters arguing they were underrepresented.

Zoom out: At least 42,000 ballots had already been cast when Landry suspended the election.

• He defended the decision Sunday on "60 Minutes," saying those ballots will be "discarded" and residents will need to vote again when there's a new map.

What's next: The Senate and the House must approve the same version of the map. Once that happens, the bill heads to the governor.