Louisiana can increase its chances of having congressional elections occur under new rules for 2026, but there’s no way it can guarantee that given the jurisprudence and timing of elections.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear whether statute and the Constitution conflict on drawing district boundaries. If so decided, that means the state can engage in a mid-cycle reapportionment to return the state to having only one of six majority-minority districts as opposed to two that the state felt forced to implement by previous judicial rulings for 2024.
To permit such a scenario for 2026 elections, the state must change its federal election dates. Already, petitioning for ballot access has begun for party primary elections scheduled Apr. 18, but unless the Court rules relatively quickly that would make changing boundaries to meet existing deadlines impossible. The deadline to turn in a petition to make a party primary ballot is four months prior to the election.
So, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry is prepared this week to call into special session the Legislature to change the dates. Working backwards can give an idea of the change in statute of dates for this particular election most likely to be able to incorporate a favorable Court ruling.
Important to note is the federal election day of Nov. 3 and the amended Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which requires absentee ballots go out to citizens abroad and in the service no later than 45 days prior to a general election. Keep in mind as well that the primaries have a runoff procedure, so effectively, given law about election outcomes and elections bureaucracy, this makes Sep. 12 the latest possible date for any runoff.
Add six weeks to that by state law means the primary election must occur on Aug. 1. Given roughly three months from qualifying to the election would put those days around Apr. 29 to May 1, then nomination petitioning could continue through the end March – which ideally matches when petitioning for non-major party candidates for the general election ballot also ends. Thus, a Court ruling by the end of March could meet this schedule.
But if the Court waits – and it will have all the way up to Jun. 29 – that would create problems. This is distinctly possible. Early argumentation usually means an earlier decision, but the Court also historically with cases that provoke large change, which this certainly would, waits until the end of its term. However, balancing this is a few states have their party primaries as early as Mar. 3 and qualification earlier with Texas having its from Nov. 8-Dec. 8. Importantly, Texas changed its map in anticipation of a favorable court ruling, creating an incentive for the Court to rule by the end of November.
The Court some years ago established through a previous case what is termed the Purcell Principle, which mandates that judiciary rulings about maps won’t apply if too close to election deadlines because of the administrative chaos and voter confusion that would ensue. That worked to the state’s favor in 2022 allowing it to keep its map then despite a recent court ruling adverse to it.
What it all means is if the law is changed just for 2026 to the above schedule, a Court ruling at the end of March will work. Any time after and the state will have some room to adjust select deadlines, such as by shortening the nomination petitioning process, which can be accomplished when the Legislature convenes in mid-April. But the more time that passes before a decision is released (and assuming favorably), the more likely it is that Purcell kicks in and moots the changes until 2028.
As well, changing the calendar will bring all sorts of administrative headaches to the Department of State running an additional two elections with existing deadlines for other contests both spring and fall overlapping. And, it will cost millions of dollars more to hold two separate statewide elections.
Bottom line: Louisiana can set up the conditions to have a new map in place in time for 2026 elections, but if the Court really wants to take its time in deciding the state’s way, there’s no way to guarantee that the existing map won’t be used in 2026.
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