Louisiana governor postpones House primaries after Supreme Court ruling

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday postponed his state’s May 16 primaries for the House, one day after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s congressional map as an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” “Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters,” the Republican governor said in a news release accompanying an executive order he signed prohibiting the state from conducting House elections under its current map. “This executive order ensures we uphold the rule of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and lawful congressional map.” Primaries for other offices in Louisiana will go ahead on May 16, state officials said. President Donald Trump lauded Landry for “moving so quickly to fix the Unconstitutionality of Louisiana’s Congressional Maps.’’ The Supreme Court decision invalidating Louisiana’s congressional map limits the use of race in drawing congressional districts and could lead to further redistricting nationwide, especially in Southern states. In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority found that Louisiana should not have been forced to draw a congressional map with a second Black-majority district to comply with the Voting Rights Act. Democrats denounced