Lawmakers shutdown Democrat proposal to redraw Baton Rouge judge districts

(The Center Square) — Louisiana House Republicans on Tuesday blocked a pair of Democratic-backed bills that would have redrawn judicial election districts in their favor in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The bills by Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, would not have added judges or changed court jurisdiction. But they would have reshaped the voter bases for future judicial elections for the East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeal’s Second District.

Marcelle argued the maps are overdue for change, saying they have not been redrawn in decades and that Black voters remain underrepresented on the bench.

“I’m fed up, frankly, with these racists,” Marcelle told The Center Square. “It’s very hypocritical. The maps haven’t been redrawn in 30 years. There’s only one judge who’s African American.”

Republicans rejected the bills on a 5-5 vote.

House Bill 442 would have redrawn election sections for the East Baton Rouge Parish Fami...