Major court update after red state suspended primary elections

A panel of three federal judges has rejected a lawsuit brought after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) halted ongoing state elections in an effort to gain Republican House seats through redistricting.

In a filing late last month, Democratic House candidate Lindsay Garcia sued Landry and other state officials on behalf of "similarly situated voters and candidates statewide."

The lawsuit argued that halting the election was illegal because over 100,000 absentee ballots had already been mailed to qualified voters. The suit cited violations of the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

"This is not a close call. You cannot cancel an election after people have already voted. The Constitution does not allow it, and federal law does not allow it,” attorneys for the plaintiffs argued.

On Friday, U.S. District Judges Greg Guidry and Shelly D. Dick agreed with Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, finding that the plaintiffs did not "challenge 'the constitutionality or apportionment of [any] congressional districts,' as is necessary to confer jurisdiction" to the court.

"Because Plaintiffs do not raise a direct challenge to the apportionment of any congressional districts, and do not provide any alternative grounds under § 2284, their Motion to Convene a Three-Judge District Court 11 is DENIED for want of jurisdiction," the judges concluded.