The Supreme Court heard the case of Louisiana v. Callais, which deals with alleged racial gerrymandering in Louisiana.
Louisiana has six congressional districts, four of which are Republican-controlled and two of which are Democrat-controlled. For the 2024 election, Democrats sued to redraw the district map, claiming racial gerrymandering. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ordered the map redrawn to create two majority-black districts to reflect the fact that about one-third of the state’s population is black.
The new congressional delegation is actually a fair representation of the statewide popular vote, with Republicans getting 65.5% of the congressional vote and 66.67% of the seats. The new district, however, may conflict with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which limits the use of race as a factor in redistricting.
Rather than gerrymander based on race, Louisiana should look to draw a map that best reflects the state’s voting patterns as a whole.
Democrats are quick to complain about Republican instances of gerrymandering, such as in the recent cases of Alabama and North Carolina. Democrat-controlled states, however, also have district lines that put their party at an advantage. Republicans won 39% of the congressional popular vote in California but only nine out of 52 available seats, or 17% of the congressional delegation. Under ideal circumstances, Republicans should have won around 20 seats. An 11-seat difference in California seems like it should be a greater cause for concern than a one-seat difference in Louisiana.
Illinois was even worse, percentage-wise, with 47% of the vote translating to 18% of House seats for Republicans. New York, which had 43% of the vote translate to 42% of seats in 2022, redrew its district map to give Republicans 27% of the seats for a 42% share of the vote in 2024. House seats don’t need to reflect the state’s popular vote exactly, but they should be closer.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In some states, it is nearly impossible to give the minority party a seat. For example, every county in Oklahoma voted for President Donald Trump, and every county in Massachusetts voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris. Although Massachusetts is the more populous state, the effects essentially cancel each other out.
With the close balance of power in recent elections, congressional district maps become even more important. A handful of gerrymandered districts can easily shift control of the House to a different party. If Democrats want to complain about gerrymandered districts, they should fix their own states first.