An announcement from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suspending the state’s upcoming May primary elections could come as early as Friday—just one day before early voting was scheduled to begin.
As The Washington Post reports, Landry informed Republican House candidates on Wednesday of his intent to suspend the primaries to allow state lawmakers time to pass a new congressional map, following a Supreme Court ruling earlier that day finding that Louisiana had unlawfully discriminated by race in drawing its congressional districts.
The 6-3 Supreme Court decision limited a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and struck down Louisiana’s second majority Black congressional district, which had been created under legal pressure. The newspaper reports that the ruling is expected to position Republicans to pick up one or two House seats in the midterm elections as the party works to defend its narrow majority.
The suspension would target the May 16 primary, though the newspaper reports that it remains unclear whether it would apply solely to the six congressional House races or extend to other contests—including a competitive Senate primary between incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Julia Letlow. Election officials had already mailed ballots to overseas voters weeks prior.
A spokesperson for Landry declined to comment on his primary suspension plans.
The Washington Post has the full story.
