The Louisiana Legislature has voted to delay the 2026 federal primary elections. The April closed party primary will now take place in May. Democrats have fought against this GOP-backed plan. Baton Rouge Representative Edmond Jordan has been vocal in his opposition.
“If we move these dates, it’s going to lead to voter confusion. But it’s also going to stifle African Americans from participating in the political process,” Jordan explained.
The legislation also moves qualifying for the federal elections from January to February. Republican legislators say this will give them more time in case the Supreme Court rules in the coming weeks that the current Congressional map with two majority Black districts is unconstitutional.
House Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman, Beau Beaullieu, pushed back against the idea they are trying to suppress African American voting.
“Extending it back to February is not a disruption. It’s not an interruption. It’s an extension. If we were moving dates up to December, that would be a disruption or an interference,” Beaullieu said.
The bill passed on a 73-29 vote and the special session ends with lawmakers moving the spring elections back one month.
But Democrats say this is part of a greater plan to redraw the Congressional map and take away one of the two majority minority districts so that the Republicans can add another seat in the U.S. House. Baton Rouge Representative Denice Marcelle had this to say:
“Don’t look at me and tell me this is not racist. Don’t do it, because it is. It’s about control. It’s about power. And I’m certainly going to stand up against it,” Marcelle said.
Beaullieu tried to assure Black lawmakers that the only intention of this legislation is to move the dates back so they will have more time to reach to an expected ruling by the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of their Congressional map.
“We are not changing any of our rules, not changing any of our maps, not changing any of our procedures. We are extending dates and providing the process to change those dates as we wait for the Supreme Court of the United States,” Beaullieu explained.
