Jeff Landry may suspend May 16 primaries

Louisiana election law is colliding with redistricting law in real time. The immediate problem is simple — the state has a May 16 party primary on the calendar for U.S. House races, but the map those races would use was struck down by the Supreme Court on April 29. Now Gov. Jeff Landry is telling Republican House candidates he plans to suspend that primary so lawmakers can draw a replacement map first. That would turn a legal ruling into an election-administration scramble almost overnight. (washingtonpost.com) ### What did the Supreme Court actually do? In *Louisiana v. Callais*, the Court ruled 6-3 that Louisiana’s current congressional map — the one adopted in 2024 with a second majority-Black district — is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The key move was bigger than just one map. The majority said the Voting Rights Act did not r(washingtonpost.com)ng reason for race-based line drawing here. That wipes out the legal foundation for the map Louisiana has been planning to use in 2026. (supremecourt.gov) ### Why does that hit the May 16 primary? Because Louisiana already moved its 2026 spring primary to May 16 and its spring general to June 27 in a 2025 special session. Those dates are not just placeholders — they are written into state law for this cycle, and the May ballot includes U.S. House races along with other contests and constitutional amendments. So once the Cour(supremecourt.gov) no valid congressional lines to run those races under. (legis.la.gov) ### Is Landry just thinking about this, or moving? The reporting is stronger than idle speculation. Landry told Republican House candidates on April 29 that he planned to suspend next month’s primary elections so lawmakers could pass a new congressional map. The announcement could come as early as Friday, May 1 — one day before early voting is scheduled to begin. As of now, that appears to be the live plan, not just chatter from activists online. (usnews.com) ### Why is the timing such a mess? Because the election machinery is already running. Louisiana political leaders were discussing canceling or delaying the House primaries even as absentee ballots had already been mailed and early voting was about to start on Saturday, May 2. That is the (usnews.com)plans around dates the state is now trying to move. (lailluminator.com) ### Does this affect only congressional races? That is the key unresolved question. The reporting centers on the U.S. House primaries, because those are the races directly tied to the invalid map. But the May 16 election date also covers other contests and statewide constitutional amendments. That means (lailluminator.com)e necessary. The answer matters a lot for voter confusion. (legis.la.gov) ### Why were Republicans ready for this at all? Because Louisiana has been trapped in map litigation for years. A federal court had earlier found the 2022 map likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act for lacking another majority-Black district. That pressure led to the 2024 redraw. But the new map then got attacked as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander from the ot(legis.la.gov)traight into another. (supremecourt.gov) ### What happens next? Most likely, Landry will try to pause the House primary and get lawmakers to redraw the six congressional districts fast. Louisiana legislative leaders were already discussing contingency plans on April 29, and the Legislature is back in session next week. But the catch is that every day of delay narrows the runway for printing ballots, organizing early voting, and telling voters what district they even live in. (lailluminator.com) ### Bottom line This is not just a redistricting story. It is a live test of whether Louisiana can rewrite its congressional map in the middle of an active election without breaking voter confidence in the process. (lailluminator.com)