FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2022
For press inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Attorney General Steve Marshall Files Brief in Federal Court Supporting Louisiana’s Defense of Its Congressional Districting Plan
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a brief Friday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in support of Louisiana’s motion to stay a federal court order that would require Louisiana to replace its race-neutral congressional districting plan with a racially gerrymandered plan.
“Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act serves as a prohibition against abridging or denying voters’ ability to cast their votes ‘on account of race,’ yet Louisiana’s race-neutral map has been blocked by a federal court precisely because it doesn’t seek to pack voters into districts based upon their race,” said Attorney General Marshall.
“The federal court’s order misapplies the Voting Rights Act and creates constitutional problems by mandating a race-driven districting plan. As the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized, the VRA is meant to ‘prevent [racial] discrimination,’ not require it. The VRA is meant to ‘foster our transformation to a society that is no longer fixated on race,’ but the district court’s order does just the opposite.
“Thus, like the district court order from earlier this year that would have forced Alabama to redraw its congressional districts before the 2022 election, this order likewise should be stayed on appeal.”
Attorney General Marshall led a coalition of 12 states supporting Louisiana in the case of Robinson v. Ardoin, with Alabama’s brief being joined by the attorneys general of Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
The brief may be read here.
[For hyperlink, click PDF icon at upper right of press release]
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