Tipsheet

Following SCOTUS Decision, Louisiana Is Wasting No Time Redrawing Its Maps

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  April 30, 2026 6:50 AM

The Supreme Court didn’t kill the Voting Rights Act yesterday, but they might as well have. They left it in a persistent judicial vegetative state, severely limiting how Section II can be applied to the drawing of congressional districts based on race. 

The case—Louisiana v. Callais—concerned a congressional map that was struck down for violating the VRA. Its redraw was later challenged as unconstitutional based on the creation of a majority-black district. The Court ruled 6-3 that this was unconstitutional. Now, Section II wasn’t gutted, but it essentially was, as the liberal dissent written by Justice Kagan stipulated. The entire South is now open to be redrawn, and Louisiana isn’t wasting any time. Gov. Jeff Landry has already canceled the upcoming primaries so his state can redraw its districts (via WaPo):

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told Republican House candidates Wednesday that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first, according to two people with knowledge of the calls.

The move follows a Supreme Court decision earlier in the day that found Louisiana had unlawfully discriminated by race when it created a second majority Black congressional district under legal pressure. The ruling positions Republicans to gain one or two seats in the midterms as they fight to hold their narrow majority in the House.

The 6-3 decision limited a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act and could lead to other Black Democrats across the South losing their House seats. Most states are unlikely to be able to redraw districts in time for the November midterm elections, but Louisiana could be one of the exceptions.

Landry’s announcement to suspend the May 16 primary could come as early as Friday — one day before early voting is to begin, according to people familiar with his plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The appellees for Callais have asked the Court to strike down the current Louisiana map later today.