On June 9, the plaintiffs in Nairne v Ardoin, m.d. 3:22cv-178, asked the U.S. District Court to let the case proceed. The lawsuit concerns the legislative district boundaries created after the 2020 census. Plaintiffs charge that the districts violate the federal Voting Rights Act, and that the district boundaries illegally make it difficult for many African-Americans to elect legislators of their choice.

The case had been filed in 2022, but was suspended while the nation waited for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a similar Alabama case, concerning U.S. House districts. That U.S. Supreme Court decision in Allen v Milligan came down yesterday, so it seems likely the Louisiana case will now move swiftly. Louisiana elects all its legislators this autumn. They all have four-year terms so if the case isn’t settled quickly, there may need to be special elections when the case is decided, assuming the plaintiffs win the case.