New Congressional Map Sparks Debate Over Voter Representation
After a nearly 10 hour meeting, the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee has voted 10-7 to approve new congressional district lines for the state of Louisiana.
The panel heard from dozens of speakers throughout the day. Most of them were completely opposed to SB 121 by Senator Jay Morris of West Monroe. This map creates only one majority minority congressional district in Louisiana.
But opponents of this map say it disenfranchises Black and Democratic voters in the state of Louisiana.
What Are the Demographics of Louisiana
Louisiana has more than 2.9 million voters. 1.8 million are White and 925,000 are Black. About 187,000 are listed as "other" on the Secretary of State's website.
But when you look at party affiliation, the numbers are much more even. There are 1 million Democrats in Louisiana and 1 million Republicans. About 800,000 voters are now listed as "No Party". This is why many Democrats are questioning why they are not fairly represented by this map.
READ MORE: Take a look at all the maps lawmakers considered
Demographics of Shreveport and Bossier City
In the local area, there are 67,000 registered Democrats in Caddo Parish and 43,000 registered Republicans. The racial makeup in Caddo Parish is 71,992 Whites and 71,652 Blacks. For Bossier Parish, there are 76,000 voters. 54,000 are White and nearly 17,000 are Black. On the party numbers, 17,000 are Democrats and 35,000 are Republicans. Bossier also has 21,000 "No Party" voters.
Shreveport Representative Joy Walters serves on the committee and she voted against SB 121. But the measure passed and is now on the way to the full house for a vote. It has already been approved in the senate.