Nearly 40 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), requiring states to consider race when drawing districts under the Voting Rights Act. That decision set in motion a deeply flawed standard, one that still binds states like Louisiana to an unworkable and unjust framework.
Today, nearly four decades later, that federal mandate continues to tie our hands, locking us into a system that penalizes states regardless of the path we choose. A system where racial quotas take precedence over fairness, local governance, and common sense.
Louisiana is no longer willing to play by those rules.
Under my leadership, and in partnership with Attorney General Liz Murrill, Louisiana is standing up – for our Constitution, for our citizens, and for the principles of equal justice under the law. We are calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit and overturn the outdated Gingles framework that has trapped states in a legal paradox for far too long.
Here is the dilemma: If a state does not draw enough majority-minority districts, it gets sued under the Voting Rights Act. If a state does draw them, it gets sued for racial gerrymandering. That is not justice; that is a legal trap. And Louisiana knows it all too well.
In 2022, we passed a congressional map. A federal court threw it out. We complied with that court’s order and drew a new map. And yet, we were sued again. We followed the rules and still got dragged back into court. That is not how this is supposed to work.
Since 2012, Louisiana taxpayers have spent more than $40 million defending against these never-ending redistricting lawsuits. That is $40 million that should have gone to our schools, our roads, and our communities – not to litigation. The Constitution guarantees equal protection – not racial engineering. The Voting Rights Act was meant to secure fair access – not impose racial quotas. Yet today, these two principles stand in direct conflict; and it is time the Supreme Court resolves that contradiction.
As Louisiana’s attorney general, I committed to ending this legal circus. Now, as Louisiana’s governor, I remain just as determined to bring clarity, consistency, and constitutional sanity to this process. Louisiana is not just fighting for ourselves; we are standing up for every state that is tired of being micromanaged by activist judges and unelected bureaucrats. We are calling for a color-blind legal standard – one that respects every American equally, regardless of race, background, and ZIP code.
Make no mistake: the Louisiana v. Callais case, which is being argued before the Supreme Court today, could be the most consequential redistricting decision in a generation. This is not just about political maps; it is also about who governs: the states and their elected representatives, or federal courts enforcing outdated racial targets from 40 years ago.
The Constitution is clear: Americans are to be treated equally – not divided by race but united as citizens. The Gingles framework tells us to sort people by skin color. That must end, and Louisiana is leading the charge.
We will not back down. We will not stand aside. And we are not alone.
Because the best way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.
Let this be the turning point!
Jeff Landry is the governor of Louisiana.
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