Louisiana's 1st 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 1st Congressional District
No events have been tagged to Louisiana's 1st Congressional District yet. District events are added over time. The state and national events below also apply here.
Across Louisiana
1996
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Attorney General objects to the 1996 congressional plan with one majority-Black district
On August 12, 1996 the Justice Department objected to Act 96 of the 1996 First Extraordinary Session, writing that "on behalf of the Attorney General, I must object" to the plan "to the extent that the proposed redistricting plan fails to create a second congressional district in Louisiana in which black voters have a reasonable opportunity to elect candidates of choice." The letter drew on the Hays v. Louisiana litigation.
- Justice Department Section 5 letter on Act No. 96 (1st Ex. Sess. 1996), Aug. 12, 1996 ↗
- Justice Department, Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
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 Oct 20, 2026
1994
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Attorney General objects to a picture ID requirement for first-time voters who register by mail
On November 21, 1994 the Justice Department precleared most of Act 10 (1994), the state's implementation of the National Voter Registration Act, but wrote: "on behalf of the Attorney General, I must object to the driver's license/picture identification requirement for first-time voters who register by mail proposed by Act No. 10." It cited data indicating that Black persons in the state were four to five times less likely than white persons to have such identification.
- Justice Department Section 5 letter on Act No. 10 (1994), Nov. 21, 1994 ↗
- Justice Department, Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1993
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Legislature repeals Act 42 and passes Act 1, another map with two majority-Black districts
In 1993, while an appeal in Hays v. Louisiana was pending before the Supreme Court, the Legislature repealed Act 42 and passed Act 1. The 1993 map also had two majority-Black districts, one around New Orleans and one running about 250 miles from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. A three-judge court declared Act 1 unconstitutional.
- Callais v. Landry, No. 3:24-cv-00122 (W.D. La. Apr. 30, 2024), injunction and reasons for judgment ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1992
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Louisiana adopts Act 42 of 1992, creating a second majority-Black congressional district
After the 1990 census the Legislature enacted Act 42 of 1992. Before it, Louisiana had seven congressional districts, one with a majority-Black voting population; Act 42 created a second. A three-judge court in the Western District of Louisiana later concluded the plan violated the Equal Protection Clause and enjoined its use.
- Callais v. Landry, No. 3:24-cv-00122 (W.D. La. Apr. 30, 2024), injunction and reasons for judgment ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1991
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Attorney General objects in part to Louisiana's 1991 House of Representatives redistricting plan
On July 15, 1991 the Justice Department wrote that "on behalf of the Attorney General, I must object to the 1991 redistricting plan for the State House of Representatives to the extent that it incorporates the proposed configurations for the seven areas discussed above."
- Justice Department Section 5 letter on the 1991 House redistricting plan, July 15, 1991 ↗
- Justice Department, Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
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Attorney General objects in part to Louisiana's 1991 state Senate redistricting plan
On June 28, 1991 the Justice Department wrote that the Senate plan (Act 2 of the 1991 Second Extraordinary Session) "in large part" met Section 5 requirements, but that in the Northeast area, particularly Ouachita Parish, and the Lafayette area, including St. Martin Parish, the boundary lines appeared to minimize Black voting strength. On behalf of the Attorney General it objected to the plan to the extent it incorporated those configurations.
- Justice Department Section 5 letter on the 1991 Senate redistricting plan, June 28, 1991 ↗
- Justice Department, Voting Determination Letters for Louisiana ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
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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 Oct 20, 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
1990
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Justice Department withdraws its objections to Orleans Parish court judgeships and does not object to two new Civil District Court judgeships
In a letter dated September 17, 1990, replying to a request from the Louisiana Assistant Attorney General to reconsider, the Justice Department withdrew its September 23, 1988 and May 12, 1989 Section 5 objections as they applied to the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court (Acts 236 of 1972 and 143 of 1975) and Civil District Court (Acts 235 of 1970 and 129 of 1975). The letter says the department's further analysis found that the changes would not have a discriminatory purpose or effect and that their implementation would not lead to a clear violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. For Act 8 (1990), it did not object to the thirteenth and fourteenth at-large judgeships (Divisions M and N) of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. An attachment headed "Objected-to Voting Changes" lists changes for other judicial districts and circuit courts of appeal.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 letter to the Louisiana Assistant Attorney General, September 17, 1990 (read as page images; 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
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
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National Voter Registration Act of 1993 becomes law
Public Law 103-31, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, is dated May 20, 1993. The law states its purpose as "to establish procedures that will increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office."
Source last checked Oct 29, 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.