Louisiana lawmakers open special session to delay 2026 elections

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Louisiana lawmakers began a special session Thursday to change some election laws for 2026, as the state anticipates a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on its congressional districts.

Last week, the high court held a hearing on a challenge to Louisiana’s map.

RELATED: Lawmakers prepare for special session on Louisiana map, await Supreme Court ruling

A group of White residents sued, saying the map — which contains two Black-majority districts — relied too heavily on race and is unconstitutional.

The special session is focused on pushing back election dates in Louisiana. Qualifying for congressional races is set for January, but would be delayed to February. The closed party primaries would shift from April to May under legislation before state lawmakers.

“The session is all aimed at pushing back the election dates in anticipation that the Supreme Court is going to gut the Voting Rights Act. So, while we will not be taking up maps during this session, the goal by the governor and the majority here with the Republican leadership is to push the election dates back, which is so unfortunate, it’s wrong — it’s moving us in the wrong direction,” said Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat from New Orleans.

There was immediate controversy, as some state senators objected to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee holding a hearing just an hour after the session began on Senate Bill 1, which would alter the 2026 election dates. Democrats said the public did not have sufficient notice.

Legislative committee hearings are where the public gets to speak on bills.

“Where they’re going to change the elections dates for upcoming elections in La. There’s been no notice to the public. Our rules requires that there be notice during the session; notice must [be] posted,” said Sen. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans.

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Given the questioning by some conservative justices, court watchers and constitutional law experts believe the Supreme Court could strike down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting processes and procedures.

If the court rules that race cannot be a factor in drawing voting districts, Louisiana would have to redraw its map. The two Black-majority districts — currently represented by Troy Carter of New Orleans and Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge — could be in jeopardy.

“It’s all about what the Supreme Court decides. We’re really waiting for them to tell us what is legal and what we can and can’t do, whether the map that was drawn, the current map — whether it’s unconstitutional or invalid — so we’re just waiting. It’s really reactionary on our part,” said Sen. Kirk Talbot, a Republican from River Ridge.

Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat, believes one of the state’s Black-majority congressional districts may survive.

“We do think here — and this is sort of legal chatter — that one would be left. If we have six majority Republican districts here, at least two of them would be a little purple, and that could open the door for some conservative Democrats to be elected. So we think there will be one majority-Black, majority-Democratic district and probably somewhere from New Orleans to Baton Rouge in that area.”

Rep. Michael Bayham, a Republican from St. Bernard Parish, criticized how his district was affected during redistricting.

“We need to make sure that communities aren’t unnecessarily split to achieve a political end. My district in St. Bernard Parish we were just summarily cut in half for no reason, and that’s something that I’m committed to changing,” Bayham said.

Sen. Carter warned that public confidence in Louisiana’s elections could suffer.

“The real harm to the public is the lack of trust that we’re about to have in our elections that we have here,” Carter said.

Gov. Jeff Landry, who signed the map into law, did not address lawmakers on the opening day of the session. Attorney General Liz Murrill, who initially supported and defended the map, changed her stance before the Supreme Court heard the case.

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