East St. Louis Redistricting Lawsuit Folded Into Existing Case
The East St. Louis NAACP has filed a lawsuit over the state legislative redistricting plan alleging Black voters were illegally moved into a majority white district. The lawsuit has been folded into existing lawsuits against the redistricting plan.
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A lawsuit filed earlier this month alleging the latest Democratic-passed legislative redistricting plan “cracked” Black East St. Louis residents from a majority Black district to help shore up a neighboring white district has been lumped in with two existing suits over legislative maps.
In a status hearing Tuesday with federal Magistrate Judge Beth Jantz, we learned the case will likely reach a decision by the end of the year, though most of the discussion centered around deadlines for court filings.
The NAACP suit joins the existing Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) suit alleging the number of Latino-majority districts decreased under the new maps. The original suit was filed by Republicans.
Last week, a panel of three federal judges ruled the legislative map passed last May was unconstitutional, but hasn't yet ruled on the validity of the maps that were redrawn in September.
If the judges throw out the September map, it could cause a frenzy to implement new maps before petition circulation begins in January for the June primary.