Louisiana has no congressional map, but there's a simple solution

Louisiana is once again without a valid congressional map following a new federal court ruling issued Tuesday evening, and it's not yet clear how the matter might get resolved. But proposals put forward earlier in the complex litigation that has led up to this moment show that there are readily available options that should satisfy the competing legal principles at play.

One group of Black voters and civil rights organizations who originally challenged the map the state adopted in 2022 after the most recent census have already appealed the new ruling to the Supreme Court, and state Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, has said she will as well. Another set of Black voters have also asked the federal judge who barred the use of the 2022 map two years ago in a different case to reopen proceedings to consider a replacement plan.

The Supreme Court could stay the lower court's decision pending further argument or conclude that it came too late in the election season to take effect this year. Louisiana's candidate filing deadline, though the latest in the nation, is now less than three months away. State officials have also variously claimed that new maps would need to be in place by May 15 or May 30 to allow for the administration of this year’s elections, though an appeals court characterized those dates as “suggestions.”