Louisiana Senate passes Morris congressional map after heated debate over race and partisanship

The Louisiana State Senate passed Senate Bill 121 on May 20, 2026, approving a new six-district congressional plan authored by Senator Morris after a prolonged floor debate over race, partisan advantage and legal risk. The final roll call on the Senate floor recorded the bill as passed by a 27-10 vote.

Senator Morris, the bill’s sponsor, opened debate by citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Calais decision and telling colleagues that the court made clear ‘‘we cannot redistrict based upon race.’’ He said SB121 largely returns to the 2022 configuration with limited adjustments and that the map complies with traditional redistricting principles including contiguity, compactness and equal population. ‘‘These maps are drawn to maximize Republican advantage for the incumbent Republicans that we have in Congress at the present time,’’ Morris said in explaining the bill’s partisan effect and the goals he pursued.

Opponents argued the map moves Louisiana back toward a single majority-performing Democratic opportunity district and concentrates (packs) Black and Democratic voters into one seat, reducing the number of districts where those voters can elect candidates of their choice. Senator Jenkins and other critics pointed to the bill’s demographic numbers and said the configuration risks renewed litigation. ‘‘You’re going from 2 districts that perform just over 50% to this huge increase to nearly 58%’’ Black voting-age population in a single district, Jenkins said, calling that ‘‘unfairly packing Black voters into one district.’’

Senator Price offered a widely debated substitute map that he described as an algorithm-generated plan designed to meet traditional criteria while creating two opportunity districts and splitting fewer parishes. Price said his map ‘‘demonstrates that it is possible to create a congressional plan for Louisiana that ensures democratic voters are not denied equal access to the political process while simultaneously complying with the Calais ruling’’ and that it splits only seven parishes compared with the sponsor’s map. Price’s amendment was rejected on the floor by a roll-call vote, 10-27.

The record includes multiple exchanges in which senators probed whether the sponsor had examined voting-age population by race and registration by party across affected districts. Senator Morris repeatedly said he ‘‘didn’t look at race’’ when drafting the amendment but acknowledged using partisan data and historical district performance to guide lines and to protect incumbents; several senators described that approach as using partisanship as a proxy for race and warned it could invite legal challenges.

Formal actions recorded on the floor included adoption earlier in the day of a Morris floor amendment refining the committee map (reported as adopted, 26 yeas to 10 nays) and the defeated Price substitute amendment (10 yeas, 27 nays). The transcript records the final vote on SB121 as 27 yeas and 10 nays, after which the presiding officer announced that the bill had passed.

Supporters said SB121 hews to the Supreme Court’s guidance in Calais and reflects local community-of-interest and population-equality principles; critics said it risks diluting minority representation and will likely trigger new litigation. The transcript does not record the House’s next steps; after Senate passage the bill would be transmitted to the Louisiana House for consideration under the normal legislative process.

Votes at a glance: the Morris floor amendment (map tweak) was adopted 26-10; Senator Price’s substitute amendment failed 10-27; final passage of Senate Bill 121 was recorded as 27-10 in favor.

The Senate returned to other routine business after the vote, including committee meeting notices and the introduction of a concurrent resolution.