State legislators meet Shreveport citizens to discuss redistricting impacts on Caddo Parish
State Senator Barrow Peacock and State Representative Thomas Pressly shared information with the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association on the state’s legislative redistricting process Tuesday evening.
Redistricting is the process of formalizing new congressional and state legislative district boundaries.
The Louisiana legislature redraws district boundaries based on population once Census data has been reported every 10 years.
Each district has to have the same number of residents - whether eligible voters or illegal immigrants.
Voting districts will be redrawn for the state House and Senate, U.S. Congress, Public Service Commission, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as for the state Supreme Court.
The special legislative session for redistricting will be held in Baton Rouge from February 1 to February 20.
Pressly warned that Caddo Parish may lose representative power because it has “lost more population than any other parish in Louisiana.”
In December, Gov. John Bel Edwards urged the legislature to make the districts match the state’s demographic makeup.
“We have a minority population, an African-American population, of 32-33%,” Edwards said. “We have six congressional districts. And so fairness – if it can be done – would be to have two out of the six congressional districts be minority districts.”
Opinion: In redistricting, Louisiana lawmakers must prioritize people over politics
Kendrick Dante writes for the USA Today Network and is a government watchdog reporter in Shreveport, Louisiana. He enjoys cooking, concerts, and content. Email him at kdbrown1@gannett.com or connect on Twitter @kendrickdante.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: State legislators explain Louisiana redistricting process
