Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry took advantage of his popularity and after just a few hours in office called a special session to re-draw the congressional map. Many thought it was 'too much, too soon,' and WWL's Newell Normand was among them.
"This issue of waiting until the last minute is really a disservice to the public," Normand said, adding that the plan was to proceed at haste, ride the wave.
Landry called a redistricting special session to replace the state’s current congressional map that a federal judge said violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters.
Landry, a Republican, assumed office at noon on Monday and, per the AP, "only a few hours later issued an executive order for a special session, calling lawmakers back to the Capitol from Jan. 15 to Jan. 23. But the session looks to go beyond just tackling Louisiana’s congressional map, with the governor issuing a list of other issues to address, including redrawing state Supreme Court districts and moving away from Louisiana’s current open primary election system to a closed one."
“The courts have mandated that the state of Louisiana redraw our congressional districts,” Landry said in a press release. “Redistricting is a state legislative function. That is why today, I followed the court order and made the call to convene the legislature of Louisiana into a special session on redistricting.”
Louisiana’s current GOP-drawn map, which was used in the November congressional election, has white majorities in five of six districts — despite Black people accounting for one-third of the state’s population, the AP noted. Louisiana's maps are important to the country as a whole because, as the AP wrote, "another mostly Black district could deliver a second congressional seat to Democrats in the red state."
Legislators held off from making the change until the 2026 races, which "gives you, the voter, plenty of time to say what you have to say," Normand said. The lack of immediate change was a loss for the governor, but better for voters, he added.
As the Louisiana Illuminator reported, "The governor didn’t fare as well with other items he wanted legislators to approve: they adjourned without updating state Supreme Court districts and passed a hollowed out and delayed version of closed party-only primaries bill.
"In the end, it made Landry’s first big policy push as governor a mixed bag."
