US Supreme Court lets Voting Rights Act ruling take effect ahead of schedule

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a 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, is likely to undercut legal challenges to Louisiana Republicans' decision to delay the state's congressional primary elections and seek a new electoral map that could be beneficial to Republicans.



President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans are fighting to maintain their control of the House, as well as the Senate, in the November elections.



The court's move, which came in an unsigned order, granted a request from a group of Louisiana voters who described themselves in court papers as "non-African American". Their 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 if they would result in diluting the clout of minority voters.



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.