Group suing over Trump's birthright order seeks to convert case to a class action lawsuit

Politico

4 hours ago

The Supreme Court's punt on a Louisiana redistricting case on Friday has injected uncertainty into the battle for the House, with one Democratic-held House seat in limbo as Republicans look to defend their razor-thin majority next year.
The court on Friday delayed its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which would have determined whether one of the state's two majority-Black congressional districts was a racial gerrymander.
The court — over the noted dissent of Justice Clarence Thomas — said the case will be reargued. The justices will likely hear the case in the fall when the court returns from its summer recess.
Because of the state's election timeline, it isn't immediately clear what map will be in use for the midterms. Louisiana's primaries are currently scheduled for April.
At first glance, redistricting experts and advocates thought that the court's choice to punt the decision means the current map will likely stay in place for the midterms.
But the court has a bevy of options. It could rule quickly in the case — particularly if the court decides that lawmakers will need to draw new lines — to have new maps ready to go before April. The court could reschedule the primaries, although federal courts recently have been loath to do that.
The justices could also rule to keep current maps in place for 2026 and later demand a redraw ahead of the 2028 elections.
Advocates on both sides of the case were caught by surprise on Friday and are now waiting to see what questions the court will ask in its rehearing.
Under the current election timeline, candidates can start collecting signatures for the April primary starting in September, likely before the court will have heard the case.
If the court ultimately throws out the current map, the state's newest district, which is held by Rep. Cleo Fields (D-La.), would likely be redrawn to favor Republicans. Before Fields' district was created ahead of 2024 it was a safe red seat.
The redraw would present an obvious pickup opportunity for the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms.
By not issuing a ruling on Friday, the court has continued the already long-running litigation over redistricting in Louisiana.
After the 2020 census, the state legislature drew a congressional map that contained only one majority-Black district out of six total districts, despite the fact that Black residents make up about a third of the state's population. Courts struck down that map under the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits election practices that abridge the right to vote on account of race.
To comply with those court rulings, the Legislature drew a new map with two majority-Black districts. But some voters — who self-identified as not Black — sued over the new map, alleging the state had violated the constitutional rights of non-Black voters by carving up districts based on race.