Louisiana governor suspends primary after voting rights ruling
The non-Black voters who successfully challenged the map have separately asked the court to speed up when its ruling goes into effect.
Gov. Jeff Landry suspended Louisiana's May primary election for the U.S. House on April 30 to give lawmakers time to pass a new congressional map before the November elections.
The change came a day after the Supreme Court threw out the state's existing map, ruling 6-3 that the district boundaries relied too heavily on race to sort voters.
“The best way to end race-based discrimination is to stop making decisions based on race,” Landry, a Republican, said in a statement. “Here in Louisiana, we’re proud to lead the nation on this charge.”
President Donald Trump thanked Landry for moving so quickly, praising him on social media for his leadership and Landry responded online.
"If there is one thing the Republican Party should learn from President @realDonaldTrump— it’s to FIGHT!" the Louisiana governor said on X.
The non-Black voters who successfully challenged the map have separately asked the court to speed up the timeline for its ruling to go into effect.
In response, the Black voters who had defended the current districts told the justices they should delay the formal issuance of their ruling until after the November elections. Many Louisianans have already submitted early ballots, attorneys for the Black voters told the court.
They lawyers called the state’s decision to suspend the primary “drastic action” that is “unnecessary and unwarranted.”
They also said they should be allowed the standard 25 days to ask the justices to rehear the case, a request that is rarely granted.
Closed party primary elections for the state's six House members had been set for May 16, with early voting beginning May 2. But Landry, a Republican, will cancel those party primaries and instead opt for what's known as a "jungle primary" on Nov. 3 that includes candidates of any party or no party after a new map is drawn by the legislature or a federal court. The U.S. Senate party primary would remain in place for the May 16 election.
New district lines could allow Republicans to gain one or two seats in Louisiana, a boost to the GOP’s efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, where they have a narrow majority under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.
"It's still possible to do something," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told reporters after the Supreme Court issued its ruling. "Obviously, those are decisions that need to be made quickly."
The map that an ideologically divided Supreme Court rejected 6-3 includes two majority-Black districts that favor Democrats. A group of self-described non-Black voters sued, arguing a “racial quota” cost the state a Republican seat in a narrowly divided Congress.
The districts had been created to protect the voting power of the state’s Black residents, who make up one-third of the state’s population.
But Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the court’s majority, called the map an "unconstitutional gerrymander" that violates the rights of the non-Black voters who challenged it.
Alito said that vote dilution protections for racial minorities in the Voting Rights Act do not kick in when a map "fails to provide a sufficient number of majority-minority districts." Instead, he said, there must be evidence that district boundaries were created because of “intentional discrimination.”
That decision puts at risk both the majority-Black districts in Louisiana and majority-minority districts in other states.
But the ruling − one of the most anticipated of the term − may not have been issued in time to make a significant difference in this year's midterm elections. A few states could try redrawing congressional maps, but would likely face both practical and legal challenges.
In Louisiana, the court that first considered the congressional map must now decide what map should be used for the November elections.
Even if Louisiana delays its primaries, lawyers for the non-Black voters told the Supreme Court, “time is still of the essence.” The lower court cannot act until the Supreme Court sends it a certified copy of its decision, a process that normally takes more than a month unless it’s expedited.
The Supreme Court asked the Black voters who defended the map to respond to the challengers’ request by Thursday afternoon, a tight timeline that suggests the justices could issue a quick decision.