Supreme Court to hear dispute involving Louisiana congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a long-running redistricting dispute in Louisiana that could determine whether the state maintains a congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts after the 2024 election.

The court's decision to hear the appeal from a group of Black voters and the state marks at least the third time it will step into the legal battle over voting lines for Louisiana's U.S. House districts that were drawn after the 2020 Census. The justices will hear arguments next year, with a decision expected by summer 2025.

The most recent congressional map, enacted in January after federal courts rejected earlier voting bounds, remains in place for the upcoming election, as the Supreme Court in May gave the green light for it to be used this cycle.

A three-judge district court panel had blocked the state from using the newly drawn map in any upcoming election after finding it to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. But the high court put that decision on hold.