Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with a coalition of 20 attorneys general, has called on the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure that states have the initial opportunity to redraw legislative maps when court orders identify potential violations of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The coalition submitted an amicus brief in the case of Louisiana v. Callais, advocating for a congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts in Louisiana.
"Everyone deserves the right to vote, regardless of where they live or the color of their skin," Raoul stated. He emphasized that as demographics change across Illinois and the nation, states should be able to adjust their legislative maps to guarantee equal voting opportunities.
In 2022, a federal court in Louisiana found that the state's congressional map likely diluted Black residents' votes, violating Section 2 of the VRA. To address this, Louisiana's legislature enacted a new map in 2024, adding a second majority-Black district. However, another group challenged this map, claiming it unconstitutionally favored Black voters over non-Black voters under the Equal Protection Clause.
Despite Supreme Court precedent permitting states to create "majority-minority" districts if necessary for VRA compliance, a three-judge panel from Louisiana's Western District blocked the use of the new VRA-compliant map. This left Louisiana caught between conflicting court orders and complicated its efforts to develop legislative districts adhering to federal voting rights laws. The Supreme Court is set to determine whether the Western District's ruling was justified.
Raoul and his fellow attorneys general argue that state legislatures should primarily handle redistricting according to constitutional guidelines. They contend that Louisiana had valid grounds for adding a second majority-Black district following the initial court order identifying likely VRA violations in its 2022 map.
The brief was filed by Attorney General Raoul together with attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.