Black voters ask Supreme Court to restore Louisiana ruling waiting period
Updated
Updated · SCOTUSblog · May 5
Black voters ask Supreme Court to restore Louisiana ruling waiting period
7 articles · Updated · SCOTUSblog · May 5
The filing came Tuesday, a day after the court fast-tracked its April 29 decision striking down Louisiana's 2024 congressional map and after Governor Jeff Landry moved to postpone the May 16 primary.
The voters said the court wrongly assumed they would not seek reconsideration and asked it to reverse Monday's order, which was meant to let Louisiana adopt a new map for the 2026 elections.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the fast-tracking as politically charged, while Justice Samuel Alito defended it; lawmakers plan a Friday hearing on a proposed map with one majority-Black district.
How will the Court's new 'intent' test for voting maps impact future election challenges nationwide?
With its key protections altered, what is the future of the landmark Voting Rights Act?
How the Supreme Court’s Louisiana Ruling Undermines Voting Rights and Disenfranchises 42,000 Voters
Overview
On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an expedited ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, striking down the state's 2024 congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and establishing a new legal standard requiring proof of intentional discrimination for voting rights claims. This ruling bypassed the usual 32-day waiting period, enabling Governor Jeff Landry to suspend the May 16 congressional primaries and void approximately 42,000 absentee ballots. The Republican-controlled legislature then planned a new map to secure all six House seats. In response, Black voters and civil rights groups demanded restoration of the waiting period and Voting Rights Act protections, filed legal challenges, and called for national legislative reforms. The ruling also sparked similar redistricting moves in other Southern states, intensifying concerns over diminished minority representation and partisan gerrymandering.