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Supreme Court to hear voting rights case
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M o n d ay, o c t o b e r 13, 2025
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Moreno strides into early transition plans Emphasis on improving basic city services was winning message
Ruling could dramatically change ‘tests’ used in redistricting
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, the nation’s attention will be on arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that, on the surface, is about whether Louisiana should have two majority-Black congressional districts, one or maybe none. But many legal observers say the court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, could use Louisiana v. Callais to find the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional or to dramatically change its “tests” that judges have for decades used to require states to draw congressional districts in which minority voters make up a majority. Such a change could affect elections all over the country. Louisiana is arguing that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and its tests for when majority-minority districts could be used has allowed states to draw maps with race in mind, which contradicts the constitutional idea of equal treatment under the law. “Race-based redistricting under Section 2 is principally unconstitutional because it inherently rests on a racial stereotype: that all voters of a particular race must — by virtue of their membership in their racial class — think alike, share the same interests, and prefer the same political candidates,” the state attorney general argued in an Oct. 3 brief. But the law’s defenders say the state is trying to gut one of the most important civil rights laws protecting minority voters from disenfranchisement. “The upshot of Louisiana’s burnit-all-down approach is that it wants relief from any congressional or judicial scrutiny of its voting laws,” wrote the Robinson litigants, a coalition of Black voters in their Oct. 3 brief. “Let there be no mistake: That was the situation that prevailed in Louisiana and nationwide for the 100 years before the VRA.” The Callais litigants, a group of “nonminority” voters who are challenging the state’s current map, wrote in their Sept. 17 brief: “Thirty years of such whipsawing arguments and decisions have aggrieved voters, states, and the judicial system. As Louisiana’s experience shows, the process is the punishment.” The brief continued: “Racial gerrymandering, even for remedial purposes, may balkanize us into competing racial factions.” The Supreme Court’s ruling on the case will be the culmination of a long and winding legal battle. Congress in 1868 passed the 14th Amendment that guarantees “due process” and “equal protection” of the laws for all U.S. citizens.
ä See CASE, page 7A
WEATHER HIGH 86 LOW 66 PAGE 6B
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno arrives for Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe in New Orleans on Sunday.
Decisive victory powered by voters who want change Early voting period has best turnout in years
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE and JESSICA WILLIAMS Staff writers
Helena Moreno’s resounding outright victory on Saturday came as New Orleans voters, hungry for change, made their strongest showing for a mayoral election in over 20 years. Over 40% of registered voters cast ballots, the highest recorded unofficial turnout for a mayor’s race since Ray Nagin won the seat in 2002 and 48% of voters cast ballots. More recent elections have hovered at anywhere from 29% to 38% turnout. About 55% of those who voted in this election pulled the lever for Moreno, who vowed to ensure toptier city services and focus on the city’s underdeveloped areas such as New Orleans East, and who led the
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER
New Orleanians head to the polls to select a new mayor, sheriff and several other local officals on Saturday.
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ä Thomas concedes N.O. mayor’s race in fiery speech. PAGE 6A ä 2 New Orleans City Council seats head to runoff. PAGE 1B ä Interim Jean Lafitte mayor ä See CHANGE, page 7A wins permanent post. PAGE 2B
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Helena Moreno, mayor-elect of New Orleans, scored a clear victory Saturday with a straightforward message: that she will fix city streets, provide a more responsive government and end the infighting that’s been endemic to City Hall. After four years that included an insurance crisis sparked by Hurricane Ida, a postpandemic spike in violence and a sense that Mayor LaToya Cantrell had retreated from a public leadership role amid controversies and a federal indictment, Moreno’s promise of change — and competence — appears to be what New Orleans voters wanted to hear, and now expect her to deliver. Moreno will be sworn into office on Jan. 12, giving her three months to select her team and build a formal transition plan. In interviews Sunday, political analysts and former colleagues said Moreno had demonstrated a command of basic meat-and-potatoes issues from her seat on the New Orleans City Council. That experience, coupled with a consistent message over nearly a year of campaigning, is what created a wave of support that propelled her into the Mayor’s Office, and what she’ll likely rely on as she prepares to take office. “Helena auditioned for the job for seven years,” said Joe Giarrusso, the term-limited District A council member and Moreno ally. “I would argue that her performance day-in and day-out for seven years is what got her elected.” Moreno started her first day as mayor-elect by spending her morning worshipping on two ends of the city. First, she attended services at Franklin Avenue Baptist in New Orleans East. She worshipped again with her typical
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ä See MORENO, page 6A
13TH yEAR, NO. 62