Chapter 18

Political Geography of Louisiana

By Tunknesia Richard and Shanda Gray

The Constitution of the United States (1789) established a government based upon the twin principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. Power will be divided among three branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.

From 1842 until 1911, Congress required the legislatures to draw district boundaries to include roughly equivalent populations in each district. For fifty years thereafter this equally apportioned provision was dropped. During this same period, rural to urban migration occurred. The end result was a set of districts with widely varying populations.

In the decades before the Civil War, Louisiana enjoyed a lively political mix, especially when the Whigs and the Jacksonian Democrats presented roughly equal party strengths. Like most of the Old South, Louisiana Democrats were noted for lengthy tenure in office, the importance of party factions instead of inter-party rivalries, and the disfranchisement of minorities, particularly African Americans. With the passage of civil rights legislation, and a general changed in attitude and culture, the political landscape has become more diverse.

STATE SENATE DISTRICTS

The state is divided into thirty-nine senate districts on the basis of population. In another difference with the U.S. Senate, the state senate, indeed all state legislature bodies must apportioned on the basis of population and may not be evenly divided among political subdivisions.

Senate districts are recarved following each census, which occurs every ten years. The legislature reapportions itself on the basis of statute as well as judicial decision. Voters may file to challenge the resulting boundaries. Previous suits have brought state legislatures under the "one person, one vote" rule. Other suits challenge boundaries on the basis of diluting the voting strength of certain (usually ethnic) population groups. By virtue of population density, urban districts are much smaller than their rural counterparts.

STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICTS

Since statehood Louisiana has used a bicameral (two-chamber) legislative body. From 1812 to 1921 this body was called the general assembly; the Constitution of 1921 changed the name to legislature. This legislature is composed of a senate and a house of representatives. Also since statehood members of both bodies have been elected directly by the electorate of the state. That electorate has changed over the decades from white, property owning males to universal male suffrage. Attempts to restrict minority voting, particularly voting by African Americans, have met with judicial and statutory defeat.

The legislature after every census must redraw the boundaries of the state house districts. Following its 1962 Baker vs. Carr decision. The court’s decision applied to both chambers in bicameral legislatures.

LOUSIANA SUPREME COURT DISTRICTS

The Supreme Court of Louisiana sits atop of a judicial pyramid. As with the judicial branch of the federal government, the Louisiana judiciary shares in the powers of government with the executive (the governor) and the legislative branches.

Judicial reform remains a major emphasis both within and without the system. Structural reform aimed at expediting the process garners support. Access to legal services by persons of any socio-economic position is another reform, and the distribution of judicial districts about the state has recently come under review.

To guarantee some type of representation for blacks as well as other minorities, legislatures began to deliberately create majority-minority districts. The belief’s that one’s beliefs can be clearly identified simply by examining one’s race. The Justice Department requires minority districts to have as many as sixty-five percent minority voters. The ultimate goal should be increasing representation of all Americans, not simply blacks.

ADDITIONAL RERADING VIA INTERNET:

http:// www.mslawyer.com/articles/updatefr.

http:// www.drury.edu/faculty/ess/irconf/Mshields.