Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District
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 district view: events tagged to this congressional district, then events that apply across Louisiana, then national events. An event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district. See all of Louisiana.
In Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District
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Across Louisiana
1989
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Attorney General objects to additional Louisiana judgeships elected at large, and does not object to a 12th District change
On May 12, 1989, the Justice Department objected under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Act No. 235 (1970), which created an additional judgeship (Division J) on the Orleans Parish Civil District Court, and to the parts of Act No. 56 (1984) that created judgeships in the 4th, 16th and 21st Judicial Districts and implemented changes in the 29th and 40th Judicial Districts. It did not object to the change Act No. 56 made in the 12th Judicial District. The letter said the federal court in Clark v. Roemer had found that the at-large method of election, with designated posts and a majority-vote requirement, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in those districts, and pointed to its September 23, 1988 objection.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 objection letter to the State of Louisiana's chief counsel, May 12, 1989 (linked from the state list) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana (list of Section 5 objections) ↗
Source last checked Oct 24, 2026
1988
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Attorney General objects to new Louisiana judgeships elected at large by designated post
On September 23, 1988, the Justice Department objected under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Act 801 (1987), which added judgeships on the Second and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals, to Act 200 (1988), which changed the special election date, and to other changes listed in the letter, including designated posts in the First Circuit and the redistricting of the 10th Judicial District. The letter relied on the federal court's findings in Clark v. Roemer that Louisiana's at-large method of electing judges, with designated posts and a majority-vote rule, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in the Second and Third Circuits and other districts, and said the new judgeships could not be added under that method.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 objection letter to the State of Louisiana's chief counsel, September 23, 1988 (linked from the state list) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana (list of Section 5 objections) ↗
Source last checked Oct 24, 2026
1984
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Attorney General objects to suspending Louisiana's 1984 presidential preference primary
On March 16, 1984, the Justice Department objected to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, which would have suspended the April 7, 1984 presidential preference primaries required by state law. The letter said that "on behalf of the Attorney General, I must object to S. Con. Res. No. 4," finding that suspension would reduce opportunities for Black voters to participate in the delegate selection process.
- Justice Department Section 5 letter on S. Con. Res. No. 4, Mar. 16, 1984 ↗
- Justice Department, Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1982
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Attorney General objects to Louisiana's 1981 House of Representatives reapportionment plan
On June 1, 1982, the Justice Department objected under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Act No. 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of 1981, Louisiana's new plan for the House of Representatives. The letter said the plan reduced the number of Black-majority House districts, from eleven to seven in Orleans Parish, eliminated a Black-majority district in New Orleans' Ninth Ward, fragmented Black voters in the East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, St. Helena and West Feliciana area, and diluted Black voting strength in Alexandria. It said the state had not shown the plan lacked a discriminatory purpose or effect. The letter noted a pending suit, Major v. Treen (E.D. La.), and sent the court a copy.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 objection letter to the Louisiana House of Representatives, June 1, 1982 (linked from the state list) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana (list of Section 5 objections) ↗
Source last checked Oct 24, 2026
Nationwide
1986
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Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act becomes law
Public Law 99-410, dated August 28, 1986, may be cited as the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act." Its subject is voting in federal elections by members of the uniformed services and by citizens living overseas.
Source last checked Oct 29, 2026
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Supreme Court decides Thornburg v. Gingles
On June 30, 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court decided its first case under the 1982 version of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The syllabus says minority voters who contend that a multimember form of districting violates Section 2 "must prove that the use of a multimember electoral structure operates to minimize or cancel out their ability to elect their preferred candidates."
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
1984
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Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act becomes law
Public Law 98-435, dated September 28, 1984, is titled "To improve access for handicapped and elderly individuals to registration facilities and polling places for Federal elections."
Source last checked Oct 22, 2026
1982
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Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982 become law
Public Law 97-205, dated June 29, 1982, rewrote Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to bar any practice "imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." It also provided that a section 4 provision expires "at the end of the twenty-five-year period following the effective date" of the 1982 amendments.
Source last checked Oct 29, 2026
1980
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Supreme Court decides City of Mobile v. Bolden
On April 22, 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower-court ruling against Mobile, Alabama's at-large election system. Four Justices concluded that "Racially discriminatory motivation is a necessary ingredient of a Fifteenth Amendment violation." Congress amended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in 1982.
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 · Back to the 2026 voting center.