00:00The state of Louisiana is pumping the primary brakes. Lawmakers in the state decided to postpone
00:05their house primaries following a Supreme Court decision that found their congressional map to be
00:09unconstitutional. Governor Jeff Landry and State Attorney General Liz Murrell released a joint
00:14statement noting that they're working with the legislature and Secretary of State's office to
00:18figure out a path forward. Now, why is this a big deal? Because the primary is now. Absentee
00:24balloting has already begun and early voting was scheduled to start tomorrow. So you can imagine
00:29there's some confusion. Louisiana's House delegation currently consists of four Republicans and two
00:35Democrats. The Democrats were both elected in Black voter majority districts. The district map was
00:40drawn ahead of the 2024 election, but the Supreme Court, citing the Voting Rights Act, kicked it to
00:45the curb, saying districts can't be drawn based on race. The ruling is seen as a win for Republicans,
00:50so it's not a shock that Democrats in Louisiana had some criticism for the governor when he announced
00:55the postponement of the primaries. State Senator Royce Duplesis said, quote, what they're effectively
01:00doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It's rigging the system.
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