BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (KALB) – Lawmakers entered the second day of the special session on redistricting. On February 2, 2022, the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee took a position on the introduction of the proposed cards.

The two Senate redistricting maps presented by District 23 Sen. Patrick Cortez and District 2 Sen. Ed Price were released for public comment.

The ideal population of a district is 119,000 people. However, sometimes it can be difficult to get this number. For example, a more rural area would likely see a larger district in terms of space, as opposed to the New Orleans area. So, based on the results of the 2020 census data, the maps are bound to change.

Over the past decade, parishes in northern and central Louisiana have seen their populations decline, while many have migrated to southern parishes or completely out of state. Additionally, the state has seen a significant increase in the minority population, which has become the focal point of the entire remapping conversation. So when Senator Cortez introduced SB1, which would maintain the number of majority-minority districts the state currently has, there was some backlash.

There are currently 10 majority-minority Senate districts statewide. Advocates and lobbyists say there should be 13 to accommodate the growing black population, which now accounts for nearly 33% of the population.

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