Multiple voting rights opposed the Louisiana state government’s attempt to suspend the state’s congressional primary election through an emergency motion.
Filed on Friday, the Legal Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Louisiana are set to represent plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters of Louisiana, Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, alongside three voters in an emergency lawsuit.
The emergency motion addresses Governor Jeff Landry and Secretary of State Nancy Landry’s decision to cancel the May 16 House elections. The lawsuit alleges that, by suspending the state elections, the governor is allowing the State Legislature to redraw the congressional map to undermine Black voters. Republican lawmakers are set to redraw the map to eliminate one of the state’s only two Democratic districts, beginning with the one led by Rep. Cleo Fields.
Per the civil rights group, the executive order is outside of Landry’s authority and goes against the Supreme Court’s authority to choose how its decisions should be used in the midterm elections.
The Legal Defense Fund is also arguing that the suspension violates Louisiana’s emergency statutes, furthers existing chaos surrounding the election and invalidates the votes of those who have already cast absentee ballots. All votes will reportedly not count, even though they will be on the ballot.
“The Governor’s order is sparking chaos and is an illegal effort to erase the legally cast votes and disenfranchise thousands of people across the state. This is a shameful attempt to weaponize the Court’s recent decision at the expense of Black voters and manipulate an ongoing election,” said the voting rights group and the plaintiffs in a statement. “Governor Landry and Secretary Landry must serve the people and obey the law. Any last-minute effort to alter election procedures or enact discriminatory maps must be stopped.”
The announcement of the suspension came shortly after the Supreme Court ruled to strike down the state’s current congressional map. In a 6-3 majority decision, the Justices claimed that the map was an “unconstitutional gerrymander” because the district represented by Fields “relied” on race.
Their latest ruling directly impacts Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, narrowing down the nation’s main protector against voting discrimination. Section 2 provided fair representation and, with its elimination, districts with a majority of Black voters and other BIPOC voters could be eradicated.
Overall, the ruling could provide support for Republican-controlled states to redraw electoral maps to create more Republican-majority districts. The full effect of the ruling, however, is expected to be felt more so in 2028.
“This cruel decision is a devastating blow to Black and Brown Louisiana voters, who have fought for decades to see their voices fairly represented,” said the executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, Alanah Odoms, per a statement. “By stripping away Section 2 protections, the court leaves communities here vulnerable to maps that dilute their political power and undermine the hard-won promise of a multiracial democracy. But on the ground in Louisiana, we remain committed to protecting every voter’s right to participate and ensuring that our communities are not silenced.”
