SPLC ACTION FUND: Governor Edwards Vetoes Congressional Map That Would Have Diluted Black Voting Power, But Declines to Veto State Legislative Maps

BATON ROGUE, LA – Yesterday, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed a discriminatory congressional districting plan that would have limited Black voters’ opportunity to elect candidates of their choice to only one of the state’s six congressional districts, despite the fact that they make up one third of Louisiana’s population.

However, Governor Edwards declined to veto state legislative maps that, similar to the congressional map, fail to provide fair representation for communities of color in Louisiana. The Black community in Louisiana increased by almost 4% between 2010 and 2020, but the bills that establish districts for the Louisiana House of Representatives and Senate for the next decade, House Bill 14 (HB 14) and Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), perpetuate and exacerbate the severe underrepresentation of Black Louisianans.   

The following statement is from Liza Weisberg, Voting Rights Staff Attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Action Fund: 

“While we commend Governor Edwards for vetoing a congressional districting plan that severely diluted the power of Black voters, the fight for fair representation in Louisiana is far from over. The districting plans for the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana Senate that Governor Edwards declined to veto fail to provide Black voters an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice.  

“The existing state legislative maps already resulted in the severe underrepresentation of the Black community in Louisiana. One third of Louisianans are Black, and growth in Louisiana’s Black population over the last decade was the primary driver of Louisiana’s overall population growth, so fair maps would provide more districts with a majority Black voting age population. The new state legislative district maps further diminish the voice of Black voters in their government instead of providing the Black community with fair representation. 

“The Southern Poverty Law Center stands in solidarity with all advocates for democracy who resisted these discriminatory maps and who continue to demand equal representation.”