LA Congressional Primaries Suspended   05/01 06:15

   

   BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana suspended its congressional primaries 
Thursday as early voting was about to get underway, while pressure mounted on 
Republican officials in other states to redraw their U.S. House maps in light 
of a Supreme Court ruling that significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act.

   Early voting had been scheduled to begin Saturday for Louisiana's May 16 
primaries. But Republican Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order postponing 
the U.S. House primary in response to a ruling Wednesday by the court that 
struck down a majority Black congressional district.

   "Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine 
the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters," Landry 
stated. "This executive order ensures we uphold the rule of law while giving 
the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and lawful congressional map."

   The Republican-controlled secretary of state's office, which declared an 
electoral emergency allowing for Landry's order, said it would post notices at 
early voting sites alerting the public about the suspended congressional 
primary. All other races on the ballot will proceed as scheduled.

   The Supreme Court decision and Landry's move triggered a flurry of follow-up 
legal action. On Thursday night, the three-judge federal appeals court panel 
that heard the initial case that was appealed to the high court issued a brief 
order suspending Louisiana's House election until new maps are drawn -- a move 
some legal experts said was premature. Marc Elias, a prominent Democratic 
election attorney, announced the filing of a lawsuit challenging Landry'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.