US supreme court sharply divided on Louisiana race-based redistricting case

Legal saga over state's majority-Black districts could be vehicle for justices to further weaken the Voting Rights Act

The US supreme court appeared sharply divided on Monday on whether it should strike down Louisiana's congressional map because the state added a second majority-Black district.

The case, Louisiana v Callais, arrived at the supreme court after years of legal wrangling over Louisiana's congressional map. It centers on the drawing of the state's sixth congressional district, a majority-Black district that stretches in a diagonal slash across the state and is currently being represented by a Democrat.