The Supreme Court moved Monday to put its Louisiana v. Callais ruling into immediate effect, waiving the standard 32-day mandate delay and ordering Louisiana to begin redrawing its congressional maps without waiting for the normal transition period. Louisiana had suspended its May 16 primary the day after the April 29 ruling in anticipation of this outcome.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote separately to concur. Louisiana should not be required to conduct elections under a map the Court has already ruled unconstitutional, he said, and time remains for the legislature to draw a compliant replacement before the 2026 elections.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The Court’s accelerated action created chaos in the South, she wrote, and the majority should have followed its default procedures rather than act ahead of the standard mandate period.
The April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais (No. 24-109, 608 U.S. ___ (2026)) held that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act cannot be used to require race-based congressional districts. HCA reported the full ruling and its implications for Colorado when it was handed down. See that coverage at highcountryadvocate.org.
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