‘Burn it all down’: Louisiana at center of conservatives’ congressional redistricting battle 

The U.S. Supreme Court is pictured Oct. 9, 2024. (Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear new arguments Wednesday over Louisiana’s congressional maps. State Republican leaders now want to get rid of a majority-Black district they created, and the Supreme Court’s ruling could have national implications.

Attorney General Liz Murrill questions key tenets of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark federal law that has been amended multiple times over the decades to prohibit racial discrimination in elections. Watching closely are Republicans in other states who have pushed to redraw their congressional districts to improve their odds of holding onto U.S. House seats – and their majority status – in next year’s midterm elections.

In Louisiana v. Callais, justices co