A federal lawsuit questioning the DeSoto Police Jury’s use of race in drawing its election district lines appears to be nearing an end following a court order to have the boundaries redrawn. U.S. District Judge Jerry Edwards Jr. on Thursday signed a consent order whereby he’ll appoint a special master to draw a new map to represent the 11 voting districts.
Background of the Lawsuit
A group of DeSoto Parish voters filed suit in May 2023, accusing the governing body of using race to gerrymander its new election lines that were redrawn after the 2020 Census. The lawsuit was put on hold last fall at the plaintiffs’ request while waiting on a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Louisiana v. Callais case.
The high court ruled in April that the state’s congressional redistricting map was unconstitutional because race was used as the primary factor in drawing the district boundaries. The plaintiffs contend the same is true of the Police Jury’s lines. The plaintiffs called DeSoto’s district map a “textbook example of gerrymandering,” pointing to the Police Jury’s failure to adjust lines to accommodate growth in the north end of the parish.
Instead, the map retained the five majority Black districts in Mansfield despite significant population losses there. The Police Jury has agreed to bear the cost of the special master, with the amount and the master’s identity yet to be determined.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
