By John Kruzel
WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed its recent ruling that gutted a key part of the Voting Rights Act to take effect ahead of schedule, bolstering Louisiana Republicans as they pursue a new congressional voting map ahead of the November midterm elections.
The action by the justices, though procedural, potentially could undercut challenges to the decision by Louisiana Republicans to delay the state’s congressional primary elections and seek a new electoral map that could be beneficial to Republicans.
The court’s move came in response to a request from a group of Louisiana voters who described themselves in court papers as “non-African American” whose lawsuit led to the 6-3 ruling on April 29 striking down an electoral map that had given Louisiana a second Black-majority U.S. ​congressional district. The ruling gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that had barred electoral maps that would result in diluting the clout of minority voters.
President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans are fighting to maintain their control of the House, as well as the Senate, in the November elections.
To give the losing side of a decision the chance to ask for a rehearing, the Supreme Court typically waits 32 days before its formal judgment is issued. But the prevailing party can ask the court to issue its judgment more quickly, as the “non-African American” voters did here.
Governor Jeff Landry responded to the court’s ruling by declaring an emergency and announcing he would postpone his state’s congressional primary elections that had been scheduled for May 16.
Landry’s move prompted lawsuits. Some challengers have argued, among other things, that the governor exceeded his authority to declare an emergency because the Supreme Court’s ruling had not yet taken effect. Â
(Reporting by John Kruzel)
