One day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s congressional district map, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry issued an executive order suspending the upcoming U.S. House primary elections, and the decision is sending ripple effects through the state’s political landscape heading into the 2026 midterms.
In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map, which included two majority-Black districts out of six total, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
The case, Louisiana v. Callais, centered on whether the map, drawn in 2024 to comply with the Voting Rights Act, crossed the line by making race the predominant factor in drawing district lines.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, meaning there was no compelling interest to justify the state’s use of race in drawing the map.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the dissent that the ruling rendered Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act “all but a dead letter,” gutting a landmark civil rights protection that had long shielded the voting power of racial minorities during redistricting.
Governor Landry issued an executive order suspending Louisiana’s closed party primary elections for U.S. House seats, previously scheduled for May 16, along with the second primary set for June 27. The move came after Louisiana’s Secretary of State certified that an electoral emergency existed under state law.
“Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters,” Landry said in a statement.
The governor framed the pause as a necessary step to give the state legislature time to draw a new, lawful congressional map before elections move forward.
All other offices and ballot measures scheduled for May 16 will continue as planned; the suspension applies only to U.S. House races. Early voting for the May election had been set to begin May 2, meaning the order came with little time to spare.
This ruling carries weight well beyond Louisiana’s borders. The decision could open the door for more partisan gerrymandering across the country, as legislatures now have wider latitude to redraw maps without the same legal guardrails that Section 2 previously provided for voters of color.
For Louisiana specifically, the legislature now faces the task of redrawing a congressional map from scratch under a new legal standard, with midterm elections already underway.
