One person, one vote, and no funny business with the districts

That shouldn't be that difficult

BUT: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court delivered a major blow to victory-by-gerrymander — in this case, in Louisiana.

Just for context, below is what the state’s most recent redistricting looked like, prior to the court’s decision, where the blue splash is Black-majority (and Democratic), from CNN:

According to CNN, the map SCOTUS case addressed a state where the districts:

In five, White residents represent the majority. Black residents represent the majority in the 2nd District that stretches from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. It is the only majority-Black district in Louisiana, which means Black residents maintain a majority in 17% of House districts though they represent 31% of the state’s population. White residents represent the majority in 83% of House districts but make up 56% of Louisiana’s population.

The decision, which you can read here, clears the way for drawing a second, Black-majority district in the Bayou State.

On a larger scale, the decision thwarts attempts to put the power to draw voting districts firmly into the hands of state legislators with no judicial oversight. Of course, the idea that any branch of the government has absolute power runs completely counter to our idea of checks and balances, but I’m neither a lawyer nor a judge. And of course, the battle isn’t over, as says Marc E. Elias, Democratic litigator.