Advocates say Supreme Court must preserve new, mostly Black US House district for 2024 elections

By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voting rights advocates say they will go to the Supreme Court in hopes of preserving a new majority Black congressional district in Louisiana for the fall elections. Wednesday’s declaration was the latest step in a complicated legal fight that could determine the fate of political careers and the balance of power in the next Congress. A divided panel of federal judges on Tuesday rejected a map approved in January by an unusual alliance of Republicans, who dominate the Legislature, and Democrats who want a second mostly Black — and mostly Democratic — congressional district. The map protects the districts of powerful Republican incumbents including House Speaker Mike Johnson.