Baton Rouge, United States. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry told Republican House candidates he planned to suspend next month’s primary elections to allow state lawmakers to pass a new congressional map, the Washington Post reported.
Report on planned suspension
The Washington Post reported, citing two people with knowledge of the calls, that Landry said he planned to suspend the May 16 primary elections. The report said the announcement could come as early as Friday, a day before early voting is set to start.
Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report, and Landry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Supreme Court ruling and background
Landry’s move follows a 6-3 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that blocked an electoral map that had given Louisiana a second Black-majority U.S. congressional district. Black people make up roughly a third of Louisiana’s population, and the state has six U.S. House districts.
The Supreme Court ruling gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, making it harder for minorities to challenge electoral maps as racially discriminatory under the civil rights law.
National political context
With November congressional elections approaching, the decision could encourage Republican-led states to seek to redraw electoral maps in an effort that could put at risk U.S. House seats considered safely Democratic. Black voters tend to support Democratic candidates.
The Supreme Court issued its ruling as Republican-governed and Democratic-led states nationwide battle over the redrawing of electoral maps to change the composition of U.S. House districts for partisan advantage ahead of the November elections.
U.S. President Donald Trump and other Republicans hope to retain the party’s narrow majorities in the House and Senate.
How do you think suspending a primary election could affect voters in Louisiana?