One final vote in the Louisiana Legislature would allow the state Republican and Democratic parties to exclude unaffiliated voters from their primary elections starting in 2027.

Republicans prevailed in a 4-3 party-line vote to approve Senate Bill 121, which keeps a single majority-Black district that stretches from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

The state’s official revenue forecast was lowered by more than $200 million across the next two budget years.

The party breakdown for early voting is 44% Democratic, 41% Republican, and 15% no party.

Voting districts typically are redrawn based on census data after the start of each decade. But an unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting broke out after President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to reshape U.S. House districts last year. More states have followed.

The petition must collect 500,000 signatures from Louisiana's 2.5 million active registered voters in the next 180 days.

WWNO’s Michael McEwen spoke with Samantha Pourciau,  a senior staff attorney at the Promise of Justice Initiative, about the case.

A Louisiana legislative committee that oversees redistricting will meet Friday to hear public comments on a new congressional district map after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to overturn the existing version.

The numbers are taking on added significance after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s existing congressional map on Wednesday.

At a press conference, lawmakers urged voters to still cast their ballots in the May 16 election despite news that the U.S. House races are not being counted.