(The Center Square) —Louisiana has suspended its May 16 closed party primaries for U.S. House races after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s congressional map.
Gov. Jeff Landry’s executive order suspending the primaries applies only to elections for Louisiana’s six U.S. House seats. Other races and ballot measures scheduled for May 16 and June 27 will continue as planned.
The move follows the high court’s ruling Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais, which found that Louisiana’s congressional map, known as SB8, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The map created a second majority-Black district stretching from Baton Rouge through Lafayette and Alexandria to Shreveport.
Landry’s order says the decision effectively revived a lower court injunction barring Louisiana from conducting congressional elections under the invalidated map. The order suspends the closed party primaries for U.S. representatives scheduled for May 16 and the second primary set for June 27. Early voting for the May election had been scheduled to begin May 2.
“The best way to end race-based discrimination is to stop making decisions based on race,” Landry said in a statement. “Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters.”
The order gives the Legislature time to pass a new congressional map and encourages lawmakers to update the election schedule as soon as practical so the state can still hold the congressional general election Nov. 3.
The executive order follows certification from Secretary of State Nancy Landry that an electoral emergency exists under state law. Louisiana law allows the governor, after such certification, to suspend or delay candidate qualifying, early voting or elections during an emergency affecting the electoral process.
In a joint statement Thursday, Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill said the Supreme Court ruling had an immediate effect because the stay allowing Louisiana to use the current map automatically ended with the decision.
“Accordingly, the state is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map,” they said. “We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward.”
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create a second majority-Black congressional district. As a result, the majority said the state did not have a strong enough legal basis to use race as the primary factor in drawing SB8.
The ruling does not strike down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act but narrows how the law can be applied in redistricting cases.
Former President Donald Trump praised Landry after the ruling, writing on social media that the governor “has shown tremendous Vision, Strength, and Leadership.”
“Thank you to the Great Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, for his leadership on the very important Callais case, and for moving so quickly to fix the unconstitutionality of Louisiana’s congressional maps,” Trump said.
