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In Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s congressional primaries were put on hold Thursday just as early voting was about to commence, following a Supreme Court decision that cast doubt on the current U.S. House district maps and weakened the Voting Rights Act. The ruling has also prompted calls for Republicans in other states to reconsider their district boundaries.
The primaries, initially set for May 16, have been postponed by Republican Governor Jeff Landry, who issued an executive order in response to Wednesday’s court ruling that invalidated a predominantly Black congressional district. Early voting had been slated to start this Saturday.
“Conducting elections with an unconstitutional map would compromise the integrity of our electoral system and infringe upon the rights of voters,” Governor Landry explained. “This executive order is a step to uphold the rule of law while allowing the Legislature time to create a fair and legal congressional map.”
The Republican-led Secretary of State’s office declared an electoral emergency, supporting Landry’s directive. Notices will be displayed at early voting locations to inform the public about the suspension of the congressional primary, while other scheduled races will proceed as planned.
The Supreme Court’s decision and Governor Landry’s executive order have sparked a wave of legal actions. On Thursday night, a federal appeals court panel that initially heard the case issued a brief order pausing Louisiana’s House election until new district maps are established—an action some legal experts have deemed premature. In response, Marc Elias, a well-known Democratic election lawyer, announced a lawsuit challenging the governor’s order.
The governor’s order postponed the congressional primary until either July 15 or a date to be set by the Legislature. The state’s Republican House and Senate leaders said they are prepared to pass new congressional voting districts — and set a new election date — before their regular session ends in a month.
President Donald Trump used his social media platform to praise Landry, who also is his special envoy to Greenland, for moving quickly to revise the state’s congressional districts. He also urged Republicans in Tennessee to do likewise in response to the Supreme Court’s decision.
Democrats say the delay could cause confusion
While civil rights activists denounced the potential for diminished minority representation in Congress, top Republicans cited the Supreme Court’s decision as justification to spur an already intense national redistricting battle among states before the November elections.
“I think all states who have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterm,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in Washington.
The election suspension in Louisiana was denounced by some Democrats.
“This is going to cause mass confusion among voters — Democrats, Republicans, white, Black, everybody,” said Louisiana state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents the New Orleans area. “What they’re effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s rigging the system.”
Delaying an election is unusual but not unprecedented.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, several states pushed back elections because of health concerns. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who led Louisiana at the time, postponed the state’s April 4 presidential primary three weeks before it was supposed to occur — then delayed it again until July 11.
More states could join a national redistricting wave
Louisiana currently is represented in the U.S. House by four Republicans and two Democrats. A revised map could give Republicans a chance to pick up at least one more seat in the November midterms — adding to Republican gains elsewhere from redistricting.
Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But Trump last year urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterms. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.
On Wednesday, Florida lawmakers became the latest to redraw U.S. House districts, adopting a new map backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that could give the GOP a chance at winning several additional seats.
The Florida vote occurred just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority issued a ruling that significantly weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. The court said Louisiana officials had relied too heavily on race when drawing a congressional district that is represented by Democrat Cleo Fields.
Trump said he wants Tennessee to take up redistricting in response to the court’s ruling. The president posted on social media that he had spoken with the state’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, who he said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain an additional seat. Democrats currently hold only one of the state’s nine House seats — a district centered in Memphis, which is majority Black.
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, said he is in conversations with the White House and others while reviewing the court’s decision.
Louisiana has a history of redistricting challenges
After the 2020 census, Louisiana officials had drawn House voting district boundaries that maintained one Black majority district and five mostly white districts, in a state with a population that is about one-third Black. A federal judge later struck down the map for violating the Voting Rights Act.
The following year, the Supreme Court found that Alabama had to create a second congressional district that would be favorable to Black voters.
Federal judges permanently barred Alabama from using a congressional map drawn by state lawmakers and ordered the use of a plan that added a second district with a substantial number of Black voters.
On Thursday, Alabama filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court seeking an expedited review of its appeal. The state is seeking to lift the injunction blocking the use of the 2023 map drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature that did not include the new district.
Louisiana’s legislature and governor adopted a new House map in 2024 that created a second Black majority district. But that map also was subsequently challenged in court, leading to the most recent Supreme Court ruling.
After the ruling, Landry called U.S. House candidates on Wednesday and told them that primaries would most likely be stalled, according to Misti Cordell, a Republican running in a crowded race to fill U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow’s vacated seat.
“It’s an inconvenience for a candidate for sure, but you know they want to do it right versus having to go through all this again,” Cordell said. She added that she appreciated the heads up before she and other candidates began “spending their war chest” during the final weeks leading up to Election Day.
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Brook reported from New Orleans and Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. AP reporter Travis Loller contributed from Nashville.