Louisiana
A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.
This is the state view: events recorded for Louisiana, then national events that apply here. See the national timeline.
In Louisiana
1995
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Supreme Court holds the Hays plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge Louisiana's Act 1 map
On June 29, 1995, in United States v. Hays, the Supreme Court held: "Appellees lack standing to challenge Act 1." The plaintiffs lived in District 5, not in the challenged District 4, and the Court found no evidence that they personally suffered a racial classification. A three-judge court later reiterated its findings and ordered a court-drawn plan.
Congressional districts named: LA-4, LA-5
- United States v. Hays, 515 U.S. 737 (1995) ↗
- Callais v. Landry, No. 3:24-cv-00122 (W.D. La. Apr. 30, 2024), injunction and reasons for judgment ↗
Source last checked Nov 3, 2026
1991
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Supreme Court rules Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act covers judicial elections in Chisom v. Roemer
On June 20, 1991, in a challenge by Black voters in Orleans Parish to the way Louisiana elects justices of its Supreme Court from a multimember district, the Supreme Court held: "Judicial elections are covered by § 2 as amended."
Source last checked Nov 3, 2026
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Supreme Court decides Clark v. Roemer on preclearance of Louisiana's judicial election changes
On June 3, 1991, the Supreme Court decided Clark v. Roemer, a suit by Black registered voters over Louisiana's electoral scheme for certain judges. The syllabus records that Louisiana submitted unprecleared changes, many adopted in the late 1960s and 1970s, for administrative preclearance after the amended complaint, and that the Attorney General objected to some, including the creation of several judgeships.
Source last checked Oct 24, 2026
Nationwide
1993
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Supreme Court decides Shaw v. Reno
On June 28, 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court held that voters stated a claim under the Equal Protection Clause by alleging that a reapportionment plan was "so irrational on its face that it can be understood only as an effort to segregate voters into separate districts on the basis of race," without sufficient justification.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
How this timeline is built
Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.
When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · How people voted in past elections, by county · Back to the 2026 voting center.