Louisiana Redistricting Fight Puts Troy Carter’s District in the Crosshairs

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana’s fight over congressional representation is moving into a new phase, with a federal court hearing Oct. 27 that could determine whether a lawsuit challenging the state’s redistricting map expands to scrutinize the remaining majority-Black congressional district represented by U.S. Rep. Troy Carter.

The hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 29 ruling against Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map, which created a second majority-Black district represented by U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields. State lawmakers subsequently redrew the map, eliminating Fields’ district and leaving Louisiana with one majority-Black congressional district.

The immediate question before the three-judge federal panel is whether to close the Louisiana v. Callais case or permit further proceedings that could put the boundaries of Carter’s 2nd Congressional District under legal scrutiny.

A district representing 60% Black registered voters

The stakes are substantial for Carter’s district, which stretches through predominantly Black communities from New Orleans along the Mississippi River corridor toward Baton Rouge.

Approximately 60% of the district’s registered voters are Black. If the boundaries were redrawn, many could be moved into the 1st Congressional District, represented by U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, where Black voters account for approximately 12% of registered voters, according to reporting on the pending dispute.

That possibility has intensified concerns about whether the legal battle could further reduce Black political representation in a state where Black residents make up roughly one-third of the population.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is expected to argue that the case should end because lawmakers have replaced the map struck down by the Supreme Court. She has also argued against expanding the proceedings, citing the potential costs and demands on the parties and the court.

The white voters who successfully challenged the 2024 map want the case to remain open so they can pursue questions involving the 2nd District. Their position does not mean that a court has ruled the district unconstitutional.

A ruling with consequences beyond Louisiana

The dispute follows decades of litigation over whether Louisiana’s congressional maps dilute Black voting strength.

In 2024, lawmakers created a second majority-Black district after federal courts found that the earlier map likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The subsequent Supreme Court decision found that the new district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, forcing the state to adopt another map.

The ruling also narrowed the legal framework for certain claims under Section 2, raising concerns among voting-rights advocates that future challenges to maps that weaken minority voting power could become more difficult.

The current dispute presents a different question: whether the litigation surrounding the invalidated map can continue into a potential challenge involving the district that remains.

Ashley Shelton, leader of the New Orleans-based Power Coalition, has warned that redrawing the remaining district could produce unintended political consequences in a state with a substantial Black population.

If the federal panel allows the case to proceed, the parties are expected to submit a proposed schedule for further proceedings by Dec. 15. The outcome of the Oct. 27 hearing is not expected to change the congressional map for the Nov. 3 midterm election.

For Louisiana’s Black communities, however, the dispute raises a consequential question: How much opportunity will Black voters retain to elect candidates of their choice as courts impose new limits on race-conscious redistricting?

The answer could influence not only Carter’s district but also the future of voting-rights litigation elsewhere in the country.