Louisiana’s election calendar just hit a wall.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has halted the state’s May 16 congressional primaries after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Louisiana’s House map in a 6-3 decision Wednesday.
“The State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map,” Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a joint statement. “We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward.”
The move throws immediate uncertainty into an election cycle already underway.
Early voting was set to begin Saturday, and absentee ballots had already been sent out to voters across the state. It remains unclear whether the pause will extend beyond congressional races to statewide contests, including a high-profile U.S. Senate seat.
At the center of the disruption is the Court’s ruling that Louisiana’s map unlawfully relied on race in creating a second majority-Black congressional district.
The decision marks a significant shift in redistricting law.
The 6-3 ruling is widely seen as weakening a key enforcement mechanism of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, long used to challenge maps that dilute minority voting power. In this case, the Court found the state crossed a constitutional line in how it drew district boundaries.
That finding now leaves Louisiana without a legally viable congressional map just weeks before primary day.
State officials are scrambling to respond.
Lawmakers and election authorities must now determine whether a new map can be drawn in time—or whether the entire congressional calendar will be pushed back. Any new plan is also likely to face immediate legal scrutiny, raising the possibility of further delays.
The implications stretch beyond Louisiana.
The ruling could open the door for similar challenges in other Southern states, where district lines have been shaped by decades of litigation under the Voting Rights Act. With midterm elections approaching, the decision injects fresh uncertainty into the national redistricting landscape.
For now, Louisiana voters are left in limbo.
This story is developing…
🚨 MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is preparing to SUSPEND the House primaries originally set for May 16 so the state can re-draw their map for the 2026 midterms — WaPo
All thanks to the Supreme Court GUTTING raced-based VRA districts
GOOD! REDRAW ASAP and WIN!… pic.twitter.com/MWQZRCP6XL
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 30, 2026
