Louisiana suspends congressional primaries in wake of Supreme Court gerrymandering ruling
Louisiana’s May congressional primaries have been suspended after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that struck down a majority Black congressional district.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill released a statement Thursday saying the “historic Supreme Court victory for Louisiana has an immediate consequence for the State.”
“The Supreme Court previously stayed an injunction against the State’s enforcement of the current Congressional map,” the officials wrote.
“By the Court’s order, however, that stay automatically terminated with [Wednesday’s] decision. Accordingly, the State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map.”
Landry and Murrill said they are working with the state legislature and the secretary of state’s office to “develop a path forward.”
Early voting was scheduled to begin Saturday ahead of the May 16 primary.
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“This is going to cause mass confusion among voters — Democrats, Republicans, White, Black, everybody,” Louisiana state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents the New Orleans area, told The Associated Press. “What they’re effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s rigging the system.”
There are four Republicans and two Democrats representing Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A change to the map could result in at least one additional Republican seat ahead of the November midterm elections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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