Supreme Court clears way for Louisiana to redistrict ahead of midterms

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that its decision declaring Louisiana’s congressional map unconstitutional should go into immediate effect, clearing a major hurdle for the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw its maps ahead of the midterms.

The order — which bucks the court’s usual procedure of waiting roughly a month before its ruling becomes official — comes after Louisiana’s GOP Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the state’s House primaries days before early voting was set to begin. Landry punted the House races until mid-July to allow enough time for the Legislature to draw new maps.

The court’s decision expedites the process, which will likely result in Republicans gaining an additional seat in November.

The state Legislature is expected to begin the process of drawing a new map as soon as this week. There are still ongoing state and federal court cases challenging Landry’s decision to postpone primaries.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson opposed the order, calling it “unwarranted and unwise.”

“To avoid the appearance of partiality here, we could, as per usual, opt to stay on the sidelines and take no position by applying our default procedures,” Jackson wrote in her dissent. “But today, the Court chooses the opposite. Not content to have decided the law, it now takes steps to influence its implementation.”

Justice Samuel Alito responded to Jackson’s accusation of political bias in a concurring opinion supported by Justices Clarence Thomas and Niel Gorsuch. Alito wrote that by suggesting that “running out the clock” by following the court’s default procedures may indicate bias “on behalf of those who may find it politically advantageous to have the election occur under the unconstitutional map.”

Landry’s decision to forestall Louisiana’s House primaries with intent of drawing a new map threw the state’s elections into chaos, potentially creating a complex legal and political battle. In-person early voting was set to begin on Saturday, but some mail voters had already returned their ballots by the time Landry canceled the election.

The state’s other primaries — including the contested GOP Senate primary — are moving ahead as scheduled.

Republican state Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, the chair of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, told the Louisiana Illuminator that his committee will hear public comments on Friday regarding a new map. He suggested that his committee will support a map that preserves one of the two state’s majority Black districts, suggesting the final makeup of the delegation could go from four Republicans and two Democrats to 5-1.

Kleinpeter said his committee would meet again early next week to vote on a map. He indicated to the Illuminator that the state’s majority Black district would be based in Baton Rouge — which could give Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields an opportunity to return to Congress while squeezing out New Orleans-based Democratic Rep. Troy Carter.

The machinations in Louisiana come after the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Louisiana v. Callais that gutted the Voting Rights Act. The court’s conservative bloc, in an opinion authored by Alito, drastically scaled back a key portion of the law, which broadly bars racial discrimination in voting, in a way that the court’s liberals and outside legal experts argue make it effectively unenforceable.

That decision followed a yearslong fight in Louisiana that briefly resulted in the state having two majority Black districts. It kicked off a scramble by Republicans across the South, who are eyeing erasing majority Black — and majority Democratic — seats in a bid to keep GOP control of the House.

Outside of Louisiana, the state where Monday’s order could have the biggest effect is Alabama, where Republicans are hoping to redraw congressional lines that created a split between 5 GOP districts and 2 majority Black, Democratic-held seats.

Alabama is barred by federal courts from redrawing its lines after losing a Supreme Court case in 2023. But in light of Callais, Alabama’s GOP-controlled government has asked the Supreme Court to allow redistricting ahead of the midterms.

Last week, GOP Gov. Kay Ivey said she would call a special session in her state in preparation for a favorable legal ruling. Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen and Attorney General Steve Marshall, both Republicans, have also petitioned the Supreme Court and lower federal courts to expedite the review process so lawmakers can redraw the lines.

The state’s primaries are scheduled for May 19, but lawmakers and state officials are prepared to postpone those if courts allow them to move forward.