The flags of the Louisiana state and United States of America waving in the wind. Democracy and independence. American state. (Photo credit: rarrarorro / Shutterstock)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the state's primaries in response to the Supreme Court decision putting new limits on the use of the Voting Rights Act, to give Republicans time for a potential redraw of their congressional districts — and in so doing, created a firestorm of chaos that put all the upcoming elections in flux.
According to Politico, "Local election heads are convening open meetings to educate voters about the change," but candidates have no idea when the primary will be and, in the case of congressional seats, which district they'll be running in if a redraw occurs.
People in both parties are expressing frustration about the chaos.
"Matt Gromlich, a Democrat running in Louisiana’s 4th District, said he has had to pause his two-week early voting plan, and is considering taking legal action against the state. 'It is completely anti-Democratic to cancel an election that has already begun,' he said," the report continued. Meanwhile, "As one Louisiana Republican strategist working on a House race, granted anonymity to speak freely about the fallout, put it: 'It is an unmitigated [expletive] show fever dream.'"
Center for Election Innovation and Research director David Becker had a blunt assessment: “Imagine being a voter in Louisiana right now. Imagine having looked at who you might want to vote for, educating yourself on the process, and all of that is thrown up in the air. Every voter in Louisiana right now doesn’t know whether this election is going to go on or not.”
As all this is going on, Louisiana has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that it was unlawful to suspend the primary in the first place, adding even greater potential complications.