Louisiana‘s Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’s veto of a congressional redistricting map Wednesday, marking the first time in 31 years a veto has been overridden in the state.
To the chagrin of Edwards, who called on the courts to strike down the map, the move cements Republicans‘ current 5-1 congressional seat advantage in the state.
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“I am obviously disappointed, I am certainly not surprised. I knew when I vetoed the bill, that was a possibility, if not [the] likely outcome,” Edwards said after the override. “While I’m disappointed I can only tell you I would have been very much more disappointed if I had been complicit in having a map that I think is so unfair and unjust enacted into law.”
Louisiana’s House of Representatives overrode the veto 72–31 and the state Senate 27–11, surpassing the required two-thirds majority threshold. The Legislature passed the map last month, but Edwards issued a veto, denouncing the bill for preserving the current state lines with only one black-majority seat. The state’s congressional seat count was unchanged by the most recent census.
Black voters comprise about a third of the state’s total population, which should translate into two seats, Edwards and state Democrats contend. The governor vetoed a bill enacting the map on March 9. If Louisiana’s congressional seat count were tethered to proportionality, Democrats would have at least two congressional seats. For comparison, former President Donald Trump defeated current President Joe Biden 58.5% to 39.9% in the 2020 election despite Republicans owning 83% of the state’s congressional seats.
“I can’t imagine there is a more compelling case for the courts to look at and to overturn than in Louisiana. It’s not even close. I happen to believe it’s a very clear case of violating the Voting Rights Act,” Edwards added at a press conference after the override.
Several Democratic lawmakers and the NAACP filed lawsuits aimed against the congressional map around the time of Edwards’s veto. The Louisiana Supreme Court is the highest court in the state and is dominated by Republican justices.
Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the state Senate but only have 68 seats in the state House. As a result, they have to lean on three unaffiliated members to thwart the veto: state Reps. Joe Marino, Malinda White, and Roy Daryl Adams.
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Last summer, Republicans were unsuccessful in overriding Edwards’s veto of a bill restricting transgender participation in sports competitions. The last time the Legislature overrode a vote was in 1991 when it reversed then-Gov. Buddy Roemer’s veto of a bill restricting abortion, according to the Associated Press.
Now that Louisiana has an active congressional map, only four states are left without legally binding congressional lines — Florida, Maryland, Missouri, and New Hampshire. About a dozen states with enacted maps are embroiled in litigation over their maps.
