Louisiana lawmakers on a Senate committee advanced a new state Supreme Court map with a second majority-Black district on Wednesday.
The current map has one majority-Black district out of seven despite Black residents accounting for a third of the population.
Lawmakers say they hope the proposed map will put an end to Louisiana’s ongoing legal battle with Black voters and civil rights groups.
The proposed map passed out of committee unanimously and with little debate. Two other versions of the map with two majority-Black districts also passed. They head next to the full Senate.
Lawmakers on the Senate committee also considered several other bills. Most of them deal with voting and election issues, including one that would ban ranked-choice voting in Louisiana even though it’s not currently used in the state.
All of the bills passed out of committee and head next to the Senate floor.
