Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Louisiana is preparing to delay its House primaries after the Supreme Court struck down its current map.<\/p>\n
In a statement posted to social media<\/a>, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry said the court\u2019s decision bars the state from holding elections using its current congressional maps. State officials \u201care working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State\u2019s office to develop a path forward\u201d for its May 16 primaries, he said.<\/p>\n Absentee and military ballots have already been mailed out and early voting is set to begin on Saturday. It\u2019s unclear whether the delay would only apply to House elections and if others would move forward as scheduled, like the contentious GOP Senate primary.<\/p>\n Landry on Wednesday told House Republican candidates he was planning to suspend the elections, according to a person familiar with the conversations, granted anonymity to share private details. Landry\u2019s decision was first reported<\/a> by the Washington Post.<\/p>\n The governor told candidates in phone calls that he would make the delay official on Friday and mentioned potentially using emergency executive power to pause the elections, according to the person.<\/p>\n Doing so would amount to a legally risky gambit on a very tight timeline. The state legislature is in recess until next week.<\/p>\n Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday<\/a> that he supported delaying his home state\u2019s primary elections following the Supreme Court\u2019s order.<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor has no choice but to suspend it,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThe court has ruled our map unconstitutional.\u201d In lieu of another round of primaries, Johnson suggested the state should instead hold an all-party \u201cjungle\u201d election in November, with a run-off in December.<\/p>\n \u201cAll states that have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterms,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court\u2019s decision to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has set off a scramble<\/a> across various southern Republican-led states, with top candidates and party chairs from Georgia to Tennessee calling for special sessions to dismantle majority-minority districts. Still, it will be difficult for the party to push through more maps ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n