Louisiana's MAGA Gov. Jeff Landry, a close ally of President Donald Trump's, just sent a chilling message with his latest "corrupt" order, according to one expert.
Marc Elias, a voting rights attorney, discussed Landry's recent State of Emergency declaration, signed last week, on a new episode of "Democracy Watch" with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen on Sunday. Landry's order canceled the upcoming congressional election in his state as Louisiana lawmakers work to pass a new election map. The order followed the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which found that states can politically gerrymander their maps, even if it effectively creates a racial gerrymander that was once prohibited under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Elias called the emergency declaration "corrupt" and argued that it shows Republicans are willing to resort to dirty tricks when they can't win on their popularity or policy platform. He added that it sent a chilling message to voters nationwide.
"It is clearly a dog whistle ... to the right wing that he's on the program when it comes to canceling elections or halting voting," Elias said. "He's going to use the stroke of a pen to do extreme things."