BATON ROUGE, La. -- District maps for seats in the Louisiana Legislature violate the federal Voting Rights Act, a panel of judges on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Their decision upholds a lower court ruling that found the boundaries discriminated against Black voters.

The panel’s ruling was issued Thursday in the case Nairne v. Landry , in which Black voters sued the state over redistricting plans the legislature adopted in 2022. The new boundaries for Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives districts did not increase the number of majority Black seats. The plaintiffs alleged they were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.

The three appellate judges – James Dennis, an appointee of President Bill Clinton; Catharina Haynes, an appointee of President George

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