BATON ROUGE — Louisiana lawmakers say they have been asked to keep their calendars free during October for a potential special session, in anticipation of the Supreme Court deciding on congressional redistricting.

This fall, the Supreme Court is expected to decide on whether Louisiana's congressional maps hold up. Rep. Philip DeVillier, R-Eunice, instructed lawmakers to prepare for a potential session on redistricting

The potential redistricting session comes after a lengthy legal battle over a recently redrawn congressional map.

"Louisiana vs. Callais" alleges that the maps that create a second-Black majority district in the state that were passed by state legislators in 2024 were illegally gerrymandered. The creation of a new Black majority district, one that stretches from Baton Rouge to Shreveport and taps into the Lafayette and Alexandria metro areas, was mandated by a U.S. Fifth Circuit ruling.

A group of non-African American voters challenged the map, saying race was too great a factor in its adoption.

The state argues politics was a major factor. Lawmakers wanted to preserve seats for House Speaker Mike Johnson, then minority leader Steve Scalise and northeastern Louisiana lawmaker Julia Letlow, who serves on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

In November 2024, SCOTUS agreed to hear arguments on the case, ultimately deciding not to rule on it when its previous term ended in June. The case will now be revisited on Oct. 15, SCOTUS records show.

Nationally, the ruling could change how states draw congressional districts moving forward.

Louisiana's congressional district map from 2022 was thrown out, too. A federal judge said it concentrated too many black voters in a district that combined the Baton Rouge and New Orleans metro areas.