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Supreme Court Fast-Tracks Louisiana Map Ruling, Spurring Southern Redraws

The rare immediate judgment accelerates new districts, testing the Court’s own rule against late election changes.

Overview

  • Louisiana, which received the Supreme Court’s judgment Monday with no 32‑day wait, suspended its May 16 U.S. House primaries even after early and mail voting had begun.
  • State officials said they aim to draw a new congressional map in time for a possible July House primary, which would force candidates to qualify in newly drawn districts.
  • The expedited move triggered a sharp public split on the Court, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned of “chaos” and Justice Samuel Alito dismissed her objections, while Black voters filed a new motion Tuesday seeking reconsideration.
  • Civil-rights lawyers, including the ACLU, sued to block Louisiana’s pause of the House primaries, arguing voters had already received ballots and some had voted under the now-scrapped map.
  • Republican lawmakers in Alabama and Tennessee launched special sessions to redraw districts, and Florida’s governor signed a new map, steps that analysts say could reduce majority-Black seats and alter the battle for House control.