The Louisiana case could affect the balance of power in a narrowly divided Congress and shape how states factor race into the creation of future electoral maps.

At issue is the Louisiana legislature's creation of a Black-majority congressional district, which a group of voters claimed was an illegal racial gerrymander.

Louisiana argued that it was caught in an impossible position: At first, a federal court ruled that the state had likely violated the Voting Rights Act by drawing only one majority Black district out of six.