By Paul Anger, 2nd vice chair, Jefferson Parish Democratic Executive Committee

U.S. Supreme Court justices in essence dealt a blow this week to racist voting districts that have been gerrymandered across the country, especially in the South.

Justices also rebuked Republican conservatives who sought to block the courts from hearing challenges to the extreme gerrymandering that has essentially disenfranchised many black voters in many Southern states, including Louisiana.

As the Axios news service reported: “A group of North Carolina GOP lawmakers had asked the high court to embrace a sweeping legal theory called the independent state legislature doctrine.

“The theory holds that state legislatures have total control over their state's election rules, including the procedures that govern presidential elections.

“The Supreme Court rejected that argument in one of the highest-profile cases of its term, ruling that the ‘Constitution does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.’”

The ruling will almost certainly result in gerrymandered districts being subject to successful legal challenges in several states.

That will likely mean adding a second majority-minority Congressional district — out of six in all — in Louisiana, where about one-third of registered voters are African American.