Supreme Court allows Louisiana to use GOP-drawn congressional map with one mostly black district

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the Louisiana state legislature by allowing the state's Republican-drawn congressional map to remain in place after a lower court judge said the new districts violated the Voting Rights Act. 

In a one-page order, the court said it would wait until next term to rule on the matter, as a similar case from Alabama is scheduled to be argued next term. The three liberal Supreme Court Justices – Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elana Kagan – dissented. 

Baton Rouge District Judge Shelly Dick earlier this month said the map violated the federal Voting Rights Act. She ordered the Louisiana Legislature to draw a new plan by June 20, or else the court would at that point. 

Democratic Gov. John bell Edwards vetoed the map earlier this year, but the GOP-controlled legislature overrode his veto. He said that because nearly one-third of Louisiana residents are black, two of the state's six congressional districts should be majority-black.

With the court's ruling, Louisiana will use the original congressional maps for the 2022 midterm elections.