The new Louisiana House of Representatives map includes only 29 majority VAP African American districts. That is absolutely pitiful. What is more pitiful is that the Holder led D.O.J. granted the map clearance when it was obvious that more districts could be made.
Below the fold is my attempt at showing the maximum number of VRA districts possible. Every district, in my opinion, is compact. All numbers are in VAP, and I - as usual - don't bother including racial groups with numbers beneath around 5%. I've drawn a few extra districts with substantial minority African American populations. A few of the districts have exactly 50% AA. Such a district would be good for a mid-to-high fifties (54-59) percentage win for an African American Democratic candidate assuming that whites continue to turn out at slightly higher rates with a voting pattern that continues to give that Democrat around 25-30% of their vote. However, the NAACP prefers that AA districts be at least 55% AA. I think this is fundamentally misguided. The white percentage is probably more important. Any district which has a percentage white of 45 or lower (or, in other words, is total-minority of 55 percent or higher) is probably safe.
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Shreveport:
26th - 51.1 AA, 44.1 W.
27th - 50.1 AA, 39.6 W, 7.0 H.
28th - 50.0 AA, 46.5 W.
29th - 56.2 AA, 39.7 W.
31st - 53.1 AA, 42.8 W.
Monroe:
30th - 51.2 AA, 46.1 W.
32nd - 55.0 AA, 40.8 W.
Alexandria:
24th - 50.1 AA, 45.5 W.
41st - 50.6 AA, 45.2 W.
Northern Louisiana:
Check for changes at the bottom of the post. 49th now AA majority.
25th - 53.0 AA, 43.3 W.
33rd - 51.6 AA, 45.9 W.
36th - 53.4 AA, 41.9 W.
42nd - 50.3 AA, 47.5 W.
49th - 48.2 AA, 48.8 W.
Lake Charles:
34th - 56.4 AA, 37.3 W.
Lafayette:
38th - 50.6 AA, 45.3 W.
39th - 50.7 AA, 44.4 W.
Southern Louisiana:
13th - 53.2 AA, 40.9 W, 4.1 H.
14th - 51.6 AA, 46.3 W.
15th - 50.7 AA, 45.4 W.
22nd - 50.0 AA, 47.6 W.
35th - 52.2 AA, 44.5 W.
37th - 50.2 AA, 43.1 W.
40th - 50.6 AA, 46.8 W.
43rd - 34.3 AA, 63.0 W.
44th - 36.7 AA, 57.6 W.
47th - 30.0 AA, 64.9 W.
Baton Rouge:
16th - 51.4 AA, 45.4 W.
17th - 51.8 AA, 39.7 W, 4.6 A.
18th - 50.7 AA, 43.7 W.
19th - 50.7 AA, 37.1 W, 6.5 H, 4.6 A.
20th - 52.7 AA, 44.3 W.
21st - 50.9 AA, 46.9 W.
23rd - 54.5 AA, 42.6 W.
45th - 33.8 AA, 53.5 W.
46th - 30.6 AA, 59.0 W.
New Orleans:
1st - 50.5 AA, 40.3 W, 5.1 H.
2nd - 50.0 AA, 40.0 W, 7.6 H.
3rd - 50.2 AA, 38.8 W, 7.2 H.
4th - 50.2 AA, 41.5 W, 5.2 H.
5th - 50.5 AA, 30.9 W, 13.6 H.
6th - 50.4 AA, 33.9 W, 11.4 H.
7th - 52.3 AA, 38.1 W, 5.3 H.
8th - 50.9 AA, 40.1 W, 5.9 H.
9th - 51.5 AA, 37.2 W, 5.7 H, 4.3 A.
10th - 52.6 AA, 27.8 W, 12.7 A, 4.6 H.
11th - 51.9 AA, 32.9 W, 10.6 H.
12th - 51.2 AA, 39.8 W, 7.2 H.
48th - 38.7 AA, 44.8 W, 7.8 A, 6.8 H.
For those of you keeping score, there are a total of
42 districts here with majority African American status. Why the DOJ gave clearance to a map which has only 29 districts is beyond me, but obviously they aren't doing their job.
EDIT! 43 AA Majority Districts
Northern Louisiana Changes:
36th - 51.2 AA, 44.0 W.
49th - 50.3 AA, 46.6 W.