By Jackson Richman
Members of Congress offered mixed reactions after the Supreme Court limited the use of race in redistricting, ruling in a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map.
On April 29, the Court decided 6–3 in Louisiana v. Callais that race cannot be used as the main factor when drawing electoral district boundaries. The ruling invalidated a majority-black congressional district in the state.
Following the decision, some Republicans urged states to revisit their maps. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said states with potentially unconstitutional maps should review them ahead of the midterm elections.
“All states that have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully and I think they should do it before the midterms,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters in response to a question from CNN.
States have already taken action in light of the ruling, and Louisiana has suspended its May 16 U.S. House primary.
“Yesterday’s historic Supreme Court victory for Louisiana has an immediate consequence for the state. The Supreme Court previously stayed an injunction against the state’s enforcement of the current congressional map,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in an April 30 statement posted on social media.
“By the court’s order, however, that stay automatically terminated with yesterday’s decision. Accordingly, the state is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map. We are working together with the legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward,” the statement reads.
In Florida, the Republican-led legislature quickly approved new U.S. House districts that could benefit the GOP in upcoming elections. Gov. Ron DeSantis previously called a special session and introduced a revised map, including changes to a southeastern district he argued had been drawn primarily to elect a black representative under the Voting Rights Act.
Florida’s 2010 constitutional amendment bars drawing districts in ways that diminish minority voting power. However, DeSantis has argued that provision conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.
In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced plans to convene a special legislative session to redraw state Supreme Court districts. A federal judge previously ruled that the existing districts violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting black voting strength. Lawmakers delayed action pending the Supreme Court’s decision in the Louisiana case.
A federal judge last year ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court voting districts after finding they violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of black voters. Mississippi lawmakers had been waiting on a decision in the Louisiana case before moving forward, but their legislative session ended earlier this month.
Other Republican lawmakers also called for changes.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) called for his state to redraw its congressional lines despite the state’s candidate filing deadline having already passed.
“The South has an opportunity to redraw their maps, according to the will of the governor and the the legislative bodies, which is, I think, what Tennessee is looking at doing,” he told The Epoch Times.
Democrats criticized the ruling.
Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.), whose state redrew its congressional map in response to Texas doing so, told The Epoch Times that the Supreme Court decision was “wrongly decided” and “is opening another Pandora’s box.”
“I’m not surprised by today’s Supreme Court ruling, but I’m devastated by what this will mean for Americans whose voices will be silenced,” Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) posted on X.
“Yesterday’s SCOTUS ruling is a profound setback for voting rights and the promise of equal participation in our democracy. It effectively hands Republicans a handbook for silencing Black and Latino communities: if you don’t say the quiet part out loud, it’s just ‘partisanship,’” Rep. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said on X.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, has put redistricting on the table.
“We have some constitutional limitations on doing it immediately,” she told CNN. “We’d have to get some votes through, but I’d certainly be willing to work with the legislature to do that.”
