Governor Jeff Landry stands in Baton Rouge ready to wipe the electoral slate clean. The Supreme Court issued an emergency order on Monday, clearing the path for Louisiana Republicans to redraw congressional maps that critics say weaken the power of Black voters. This ruling allows the state to bypass the usual 32-day wait for a formal transmission of opinions to lower courts. Governor Landry responded by suspending the state’s House primary elections to give lawmakers time to carve out a new map.

The case, Louisiana v. Callais, centers on whether race can be considered when drawing districts to ensure representation. According to the Washington Post, the state legislature previously drew a map where Black voters comprised a majority in only one district, despite making up a third of the population. A federal judge had ordered a second majority-Black district that stretched diagonally from Shreveport to Baton Rouge, but the high court’s conservative majority has now signaled a retreat from these protections.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a sharp dissent, writing that the court’s decision is “tantamount to an approval of Louisiana’s rush to pause the ongoing election in order to pass a new map.” This isn't a technicality; it is the structural hollowing out of what remains of American democracy. While the court expedites the removal of minority safeguards in Louisiana, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has refused to redraw his state’s lines, claiming it is too late to act before the midterms. The result is a fragmented, hollow state where the rules of the game change depending on who holds the pen.