Every 10 years, states are required to redraw the districts lines for federal, state, and local officeholders. Because Louisiana is one of four states (Virginia, New Jersey, and Mississippi are the others) to have legislative elections this year, redistricting of legislative districts takes on an added urgency this year.

Currently, both the House and Senate have passed plans that redraw their legislative districts. While these plans still have several additional hurdles to clear (the other chamber has to pass the plan, Gov. Jindal must sign/veto the legislation, and the US Department of Justice must approve these plans), we believe that the current versions of these bills is a good starting point for analyzing changes between current and proposed districts. Over the next week, we will look on a region by region basis as to what the political changes will be.

NEXT ARTICLE: Changes to legislative district lines in North and Central Louisiana