Louisiana postpones May primaries after supreme court rules state must redraw congressional maps
Louisiana moved to postpone its May primaries on Thursday amid efforts by other southern states to redraw congressional districts following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday.
Before the Supreme Court’s decision, which eliminated a key protection against racial discrimination in voting map drawing, some states had already begun processes to redraw districts that could diminish Black voting power. More states have since followed, with governors calling special sessions to redraw congressional districts potentially before the November midterm elections.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, both Republicans, issued a joint statement saying the state cannot use its current districts for the primaries after the Supreme Court ruling. Early voting had been scheduled to begin Saturday ahead of the May 16 primary.
“The State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map,” Landry and Murrill said in a statement on social media Thursday. “We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward.”
Al Sharpton says 'devastating' decision can spur 'movement of people'
Reverend Al Sharpton appeared on MS Now’s Morning Joe program to discuss the court ruling, describing it as a “devastating blow.”
“It takes the last part of dealing with racial inequality and gerrymandering off the table,” he said. “Look at Mississippi, for example, 37.7% of Mississippi is Black, but only [hold] one congressional seat. That didn’t just happen. And when we look at the fact that during Reconstruction, we went up to eight Blacks in Congress, but when Reconstruction ended, it wasn’t until 1969 before we got eight Blacks in Congress. So, there was a deliberate racial scheme. Now we’re acting like that is all over with when it is not.”
Despite the setback, Sharpton believes the decision may inspire a larger movement for racial equality and encourage more voters to participate.
“The question now is, can we deal with it? The answer is yes,” he said. “Many of the Blacks that are in Congress are in swing districts. Many whites will vote for Blacks now that wouldn’t in years passed, and many Blacks will be energized by this decision.
“So, I think it’s a devastating decision, but I think it will, in many ways, inspire a movement of people, Black and White, to say, ‘we’re not going to live in an America that’s going backwards, despite a backwards supreme court decision.”
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Damon T Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee, issued a statement:
“Black Americans have never been fully represented in the electoral process. This ruling makes it less likely that we ever will. The impact of this ruling cannot be understated. The consequences will be seen both immediately and far into the future.
“The Court claims to leave the law intact, but reinterprets it in a convoluted way, making it infinitely more difficult—if not impossible—not only to secure meaningful relief for a violation of voting rights, but to prove that a violation exists at all.
“Partisanship has now been elevated from permissible, to being a priority, to now offering protection to states, insulating them from accountability for violating voting rights. And communities of color are left with rights on paper, but virtually no effective remedies in fact.
“Faced with this new reality, we must not give up hope. We must use every tool at our disposal to protect voting rights, from litigation and advocacy to the Election Protection Coalition… We must also pursue reform of the Supreme Court, which has become both logically and morally bankrupt. Our democracy depends on it.”
Analysis: Republicans could crack urban areas to dilute Black vote
The Voting Rights Act was a political peace compact written in John Lewis’s blood.
The Callais v Landry decision by the Supreme Court, which set aside much of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, disregards that history along with the sacrifices of thousands who fought segregationist white supremacists for political equality.
“This ruling is a major setback for our nation and threatens to erode the hard-won victories we’ve fought, bled, and died for,” the NAACP stated after the decision.
The Voting Rights Act’s passage created a Congress that better reflects the country’s ethnic and racial diversity but also linked non-white voters politically with Democrats.
With the Callais decision requiring proof of racial motivations in redistricting, Republican majorities may marginalize Black political power, especially in the racially polarized South.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, told CNN he does not think postponing the May primaries is a “very good idea” after the Supreme Court decision but acknowledged he has not fully considered the implications.
Supreme court decision more likely to affect local-level government
While the Supreme Court’s Callais decision draws attention at the congressional level, its impact is expected to be broader at the local level.
Since 2015, most cases finding Section 2 violations have been at the local level.
The election suspension drew criticism from some Democrats, according to the Associated Press.
“This is going to cause mass confusion among voters – Democrats, Republicans, white, Black, everybody,” said Louisiana state senator Royce Duplessis, a Democrat representing New Orleans. “What they’re effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s rigging the system.”
Louisiana is currently represented in the US House by four Republicans and two Democrats. A redrawn map could allow Republicans to gain at least one more seat in the November midterms.
Louisiana wants to redraw maps before the midterms. What about other southern states?
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday urged states to redraw their maps following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Voting Rights Act.
Louisiana, where Republicans could reconfigure two districts currently held by Black Democrats, has indicated a desire to redraw maps quickly before the midterms.
The situation in other southern states is more complex. Alabama is under a court injunction preventing use of its current maps, which include two districts represented by Black Democrats, until 2030. The injunction followed a finding that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters. Alabama may seek to lift this injunction in light of the Callais decision.
Mississippi could move quickly to eliminate a district represented by Bennie Thompson, a Black Democrat. Republicans in South Carolina may also attempt to eliminate the district of Jim Clyburn, a powerful Democrat in the US House.
In Tennessee, Republicans could redraw maps to eliminate a district around Memphis, currently held by Democrat Steve Cohen. Georgia Republicans may also try to eliminate several Democrat-held districts.
How Louisiana got here: US supreme court decision severely weakens Voting Rights Act
On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana must redraw its congressional map in a landmark decision that effectively weakens a major section of the Voting Rights Act.
In a 6-3 partisan decision, the Court rendered Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act ineffective. Section 2 is the last powerful provision of the 1965 civil rights law preventing racial discrimination in voting and has been used to ensure minority voters are treated fairly in redistricting.
“Allowing race to play any part in government decision-making represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. “Compliance with section 2 thus could not justify the state’s use of race-based redistricting here. The state’s attempt to satisfy the middle district’s ruling, although understandable, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”
The decision marks a major upheaval in US civil rights law, permitting lawmakers to draw district plans that weaken Black and minority voter influence.
Attorney General Liz Murrill and Governor Jeff Landry issued a statement:
“Yesterday’s 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. By the Court’s order, however, that stay automatically terminated with yesterday’s decision. Accordingly, the State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map. We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward.”
