Newly sworn in, Louisiana's governor calls for special session to draw new congressional map
Source: Yahoo! News
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In his first hours in office, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Monday called a redistricting special session, giving lawmakers the opportunity to draw and replace the state's current congressional map that a federal judge said violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters.
Landry, a Republican, assumed office at noon on Monday and only a few hours later issued an executive order for a special session, calling lawmakers back to the Capitol from Jan. 15 to Jan. 23. But the session looks to go beyond just tackling Louisiana's congressional map, with the governor issuing a list of other issues to address, including redrawing state Supreme Court districts and moving away from Louisiana's current open primary election system to a closed one.
“The courts have mandated that the state of Louisiana redraw our congressional districts," Landry said in a press release. “Redistricting is a state legislative function. That is why today, I followed the court order and made the call to convene the legislature of Louisiana into a special session on redistricting.”
Louisiana’s current GOP-drawn map, which was used in the November congressional election, has white majorities in five of six districts — despite Black people accounting for one-third of the state’s population. Another mostly Black district could deliver a second congressional seat to Democrats in the red state.
Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/newly-sworn-louisianas-governor-calls-232247443.html
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