BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Lawmakers have cast their final votes on the district maps in the redistricting session. After weeks of heated debate, maps are headed to the governor’s desk and some are already being called to go to court.

Not everyone was pleased with how the final lines fell, and some are still standing by their belief the maps are in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The fight for more minority representation from BESE to the state Supreme Court fell short.

“We have to make policy decisions on what we believe is best for the state and best for the geography, best for the communities of interest and best for the public. And so in my opinion, we’ve struck a good balance here,” Rep. John Stefanski said.

Rep. Stefanski spent the better part of a year working on the maps and traveling the state on the redistricting roadshow. He has been a staunch defender of the leadership’s maps in that they are legal under the law and he could not create more minority districts. Others point to the maps that were held in committee that showed multiple attempts at increasing minority representation.

“It’s a clear violation. I mean, I mean, anybody can see on his face a violation of the Voting Rights Act, and that is the precise reason why Louisiana is under subsection five of the Voting Rights Act is because states, like Louisiana, must be under the watchful eye of the Department of Justice,” Sen. Cleo Fields said.

A congressional map that was a conglomeration of both the Senate and House’s maps passed – but not with a veto-proof majority. The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus and the Louisiana Democratic Party have called on the governor to veto the map as it stays fairly similar to the current map and only has one majority-minority district.

“Section Two of the Voting Rights Act imposes an affirmative obligation on states to ensure that a racial minority of voters have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice. SB 5 and HB 1 do not comply with that obligation, despite the fact that those opportunities were clearly present in the multiple alternative maps offered by way of bills and amendments. Unfortunately, this Body failed to give them proper consideration. 

In addition to disregarding the law in this aspect, this Body has also disregarded the people we are here to represent. The public has been consistent over the last several months about the fact that they want a second majority-minority Congressional district and we have failed to give it to them. 

These Congressional maps do not comply with the Voting Rights Act, and they do not comply with the will of the people. Therefore, the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus is requesting that the Governor veto SB 5 and HB 1.”

Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus

GOP leadership continues to maintain their defense that two minority districts would not perform well enough to elect candidates of choice based on the Black Voting Age Population of the proposed districts that Democrats presented.

“Several alternative maps that provided pathways, that provided opportunities, clear ways in which we can do this were presented,” Rep. Royce Duplessis said. “These weren’t just flagrant attempts. These were real attempts. Maps that were more compact, maps that split fewer parishes.”

The House did not even attempt to debate and pass another supreme court map since it was not believed any of the options could get ⅔  support of the legislature. In the end, the maps seen as maintaining the status quo that passed are already being challenged for it they violate Section Two of the Voting Rights Act that ensures equal opportunity.

The House and Senate district maps were passed by both chambers. But some conservative representatives voted against the president’s map because they did not like how it split up St. Mary Parish.

Sen. Fields said there are multiple civil rights groups in Baton Rouge looking to file lawsuits on the maps. Many are waiting to see what Governor John Bel Edwards will do with them. He has 20 days to determine if he will sign or veto them.

“As Americans, voting for the leaders who will represent us is one of our most cherished and important rights and responsibilities. As elected officials, regardless of our political party or affiliations, we all have the responsibility to ensure that the process of voting is fair for all and that the electoral maps do not result in diluting the voting strength of certain groups. As I’ve often said: the voters should be choosing their leaders; leaders should not be picking and choosing our voters. 

Throughout this Legislative Session, I have had discussions with a diverse group of legislators and leaders about different map proposals, and I will closely review the new district maps Louisiana’s Legislature has passed before making a decision on how to proceed. I remain adamant that the maps should reflect the growth of the African American population in our state over the last 10 years, allowing for minority groups to have an opportunity at electing candidates of their own choosing, and I do have concerns that several of the maps do not fulfill that moral and legal requirement.

I thank the Legislature for the time and attention paid to these maps and for the sometimes emotional and difficult debate leading up to their passage. I pledge to the people of Louisiana to very carefully examine them in order to determine if I believe they are reasonable, fair, and in line with the Voting Rights Act.”

Gov. Edwards

If the governor does veto the maps the legislators will get a chance to redraw them during the regular legislative session that starts on March 14.