Louisiana U.S. House primaries are suspended after VRA ruling : NPR

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry records a social media video in front of the White House on March 24, 2025.

Mark Schiefelbein/AP

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Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Louisiana has suspended its upcoming primaries for the U.S. House of Representatives, following Wednesday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the state’s congressional map is an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”

The rest of Louisiana’s primaries, including the U.S. Senate, will proceed as scheduled, with early voting beginning Saturday and the primary date set for May 16.

It’s unclear when the House races will continue.

“Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters,” Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, said in a statement announcing the suspension. “This executive order ensures that we uphold the rule of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and legal congressional map.”

The last-minute change follows the Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday in a case involving Louisiana’s congressional map that weakens protections against racial discrimination in redistricting.

The decision centered on one of the state’s two majority-Democratic and majority-Black districts. The Republican-led Legislature is expected to redraw the congressional map to eliminate at least one of those Democratic seats in this year’s midterm elections.

In a statement, Secretary of State Nancy Landry, a Republican, said: “Our office will post notices at each of the early voting sites to alert the public of this change. Although elections to the U.S. House of Representatives will remain on voters’ ballots, not all votes cast in those elections will be counted.

Mail-in ballots for the state’s primary have already been sent out.