A joint statement by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill announced that congressional primaries will not be going forward as scheduled on May 16. The news comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down Louisiana’s second majority Black congressional district, the newly-formed District 6, as “an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”
The joint statement by Landry and Murrill said that in the wake of Wednesday’s High Court ruling, “[T]he State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map.” The statement continued, “We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward.”
Early voting had been scheduled to begin Saturday for the closed party primaries for congress. As Louisiana Public Radio reports, LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says the Supreme Court’s ruling will have political ramifications far beyond Louisiana, especially for the South and Black representation in congress.
Hogan elaborated, " For a long time, African Americans have been pointing out that they were underrepresented, and they were happy to get a second congressional district, in the state, and now that one is now going to be wiped away.” On the day of the ruling, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said in a statement, “My lawyers are currently analyzing the opinion. We are limited in what we can say at this time as this continues to be active litigation, with the case remanded for proceedings back to the Western District (of Louisiana).”
Ramifications in Texas
The high court’s ruling is also expected to have significant ramifications in Texas. As Texas Public Radio reports, this decision came just two days after the Supreme Court upheld the newly-redrawn congressional map made by Texas Republicans. Plaintiffs sued, describing the new Texas map as a case of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.
Writing for the court’s conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito said Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act – the provision which allowed enforcement of the act -- didn’t bar states from using non-racial factors when drawing maps, including to achieve partisan advantage. “I think it's hard to overstate how seismic this change is going to be.”
David Froomkin teaches constitutional law at the University of Houston Law Center. “I expect that states across the South will respond by eliminating minority opportunity congressional districts -- for example, Louisiana, the subject of this particular case, but also states like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.” Justice Elena Kagan, in her dissent, said the ruling “renders section 2 all but a dead letter.”
