#election2026 — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #election2026, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.europesays.com/people/224164/ Key takeaways from day one of the Republican midterm convention – Houston Public Media #DonaldTrump #DonaldTrumpJr #Election2026 #Elections2026 #Government #KenPaxton #MidTermElection #News #NTXNow #Politics #RepublicanNationalConvention #Republicans #Trump
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The LWVA mayoral forum largely focused on candidates' plans for Measure L, the proposed $300M infrastructure bond. Desmond Bracken reports that Tracy Jensen and Malia Vella support the measure, while Tony Daysog opposes it as it is written. Photo by Maurice Ramirez. https://alamedapost.com/news/mayor-hopefuls-differ-on-infrastructure-bond-urban-development-strategies/
#alameda #AnnaCrane #election2026 #LeagueOfWomenVoters #MaliaVella #TonyDaysog #TracyJensen
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https://www.europesays.com/people/223038/ ‘Massive Loss for Trump’: US Supreme Court Tosses Missouri GOP Map, Again #DonaldTrump #Election2026 #gerrymandering #HakeemJeffries #Missouri #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USSupremeCourt
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What You Missed by Not Watching Trump Last Night
Last night, I watched Donald Trump’s one-hour-and-forty-five-minute speech to the Republican midterm convention. I watched it with the…
#UnitedStates #US #USA #DonaldTrump #election2026. #electioninterference #ONTAP #Politics #Republicans #trump
https://www.europesays.com/3244123/ -
Yet another political earthquake in America, as Rhode Island’s governor McKee and the mayor of Providence BOTH lose their respective primaries. A young Democratic Socialist named David Morales has won to be the party’s candidate for mayor:
https://www.twincities.com/2026/09/10/rhode-island-primary-helena-foulkes-dan-mckee/
Here we go!!
#goodNews #election2026 #news #positiveNews #RhodeIsland #NewEngland #USA
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Yet another political earthquake in America, as Rhode Island’s governor McKee and the mayor of Providence BOTH lose their respective primaries. A young Democratic Socialist named David Morales has won to be the party’s candidate for mayor:
https://www.twincities.com/2026/09/10/rhode-island-primary-helena-foulkes-dan-mckee/
Here we go!!
#goodNews #election2026 #news #positiveNews #RhodeIsland #NewEngland #USA
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Yet another political earthquake in America, as Rhode Island’s governor McKee and the mayor of Providence BOTH lose their respective primaries. A young Democratic Socialist named David Morales has won to be the party’s candidate for mayor:
https://www.twincities.com/2026/09/10/rhode-island-primary-helena-foulkes-dan-mckee/
Here we go!!
#goodNews #election2026 #news #positiveNews #RhodeIsland #NewEngland #USA
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Yet another political earthquake in America, as Rhode Island’s governor McKee and the mayor of Providence BOTH lose their respective primaries. A young Democratic Socialist named David Morales has won to be the party’s candidate for mayor:
https://www.twincities.com/2026/09/10/rhode-island-primary-helena-foulkes-dan-mckee/
Here we go!!
#goodNews #election2026 #news #positiveNews #RhodeIsland #NewEngland #USA
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Yet another political earthquake in America, as Rhode Island’s governor McKee and the mayor of Providence BOTH lose their respective primaries. A young Democratic Socialist named David Morales has won to be the party’s candidate for mayor:
https://www.twincities.com/2026/09/10/rhode-island-primary-helena-foulkes-dan-mckee/
Here we go!!
#goodNews #election2026 #news #positiveNews #RhodeIsland #NewEngland #USA
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Elon Musk’s Lawyer Seeks Seat in Congress
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Elon Musk’s Lawyer Seeks Seat in Congress
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Elon Musk’s Lawyer Seeks Seat in Congress
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Elon Musk’s Lawyer Seeks Seat in Congress
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Elon Musk’s Lawyer Seeks Seat in Congress
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🚨 TRUMP PROMISES AMERICANS A $5,000 “DIVIDEND” IF REPUBLICANS KEEP CONGRESS — BUT WHO PAYS FOR IT?
DALLAS — September 10, 2026 — President Donald Trump has made an extraordinary promise less than two months before the U.S. midterm elections:
If Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate on November 3, Trump says he wants to send **$5,000 to every adult American citizen**.
Trump unveiled the proposal Wednesday night at the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, calling the payment the:
**“Trump Dividend.”**
His condition was unmistakably political:
Republicans must keep control of Congress.
Trump also said the money would have to be **spent inside the United States**. But he gave no detailed explanation of where the enormous amount of money would come from or how the program would work.
## THE PRICE TAG: MORE THAN $1 TRILLION
This would not be a small stimulus program.
Reuters estimates that if approximately 270 million U.S. adults received $5,000 each, the total cost would reach roughly:
**$1.35 trillion.**
The actual figure could be lower depending on eligibility because Trump specifically referred to adult citizens, and Vice President JD Vance later suggested wealthy Americans might not receive the payment.
But even with exclusions, the cost would likely remain enormous.
For comparison, the United States is already running an annual federal budget deficit of nearly:
**$1.8 trillion.**
And the national debt recently passed:
**$40 trillion.**
Adding another trillion-dollar federal payment would therefore immediately raise questions about borrowing, inflation and the sustainability of government finances.
## TRUMP DIDN’T SAY WHERE THE MONEY WOULD COME FROM
Trump described the payment as a dividend generated by America’s economic success.
But he did not provide a financing plan.
Within an hour of Trump’s announcement, Vice President JD Vance suggested that **tariff revenues** could help fund the payments.
There is a major mathematical problem with that explanation.
According to the Associated Press, the amount required for the proposed dividends would **far exceed the tariff revenue collected by the federal government**.
So unless eligibility is dramatically restricted or another funding source is found, Congress would have to identify hundreds of billions — potentially more than $1 trillion — from somewhere else.
That could mean:
• higher government borrowing
• spending cuts elsewhere
• new taxes or revenue
• or some combination of all threeSo far, no detailed legislation has been released.
## CAN TRUMP JUST SEND THE CHECKS HIMSELF?
No.
Despite Trump previously suggesting presidents may have broad authority over similar payments, the $5,000 program would require congressional authorization or congressional cooperation.
That is one reason the promise is tied so closely to Republicans maintaining control of both chambers.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno has already said he intends to prepare legislation so the “Trump Dividend” could be passed immediately after the November election if Republicans win.
So voters should understand an important distinction:
**Trump has made a campaign promise.**
He has not created a $5,000 payment program.
No checks have been authorized.
No funding has been approved.
And no final eligibility rules currently exist.
## IS THIS LITERALLY “BUYING VOTES”?
Critics immediately described the promise as vote-buying.
Politically, it is easy to understand why.
Trump is effectively telling voters:
**Keep Republicans in power, and you could receive $5,000.**
But legally, the situation is more complicated.
An attorney consulted by the Associated Press said the proposal would not necessarily violate election laws because individual voters would not receive money in exchange for proving that they personally voted Republican.
The payment would instead be a government program available to qualifying Americans regardless of whether they voted Republican, Democratic, for another party — or did not vote at all.
That makes it fundamentally different from directly paying an individual for their vote.
Whether the eventual structure could face other legal challenges would depend on how Congress writes the legislation.
## THE TIMING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE
Trump did not announce the proposal during a White House economic briefing.
He announced it at a **Republican midterm convention**, during an event specifically designed to help Republicans retain control of Congress.
Trump even urged voters to behave as though **he himself were on the ballot**.
Republicans currently face a difficult electoral environment.
Several GOP candidates in competitive races skipped the Dallas convention, while polling shows widespread dissatisfaction with the cost of living and the continuing war with Iran.
Trump’s approval ratings have also fallen sharply.
That makes the $5,000 announcement more than an economic proposal.
It is now part of the Republican Party’s strategy for winning the November midterms.
## AND THEN THERE’S THE INFLATION QUESTION
Sending enormous amounts of cash into the economy can boost consumer spending.
That is partly the point.
But if consumer demand increases faster than the economy’s ability to produce goods and services, prices can also rise.
The United States experienced a similar debate after the massive stimulus packages issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those payments were introduced during an economic emergency.
Trump’s proposed dividend would arrive under very different circumstances — while the federal government is already running a huge deficit and carrying more than $40 trillion in debt.
That does not automatically mean a $5,000 payment would cause another inflation surge.
But a program potentially exceeding $1 trillion would be large enough that its economic consequences could not simply be ignored.
## THE “TRUMP DIVIDEND” HAS CHANGED BEFORE
Trump has previously floated the idea of returning government revenue directly to Americans.
Earlier in 2026, he proposed a smaller:
**$2,000 dividend.**
That proposal was never implemented.
Now the amount has jumped to:
**$5,000.**
And for the first time, Trump has explicitly linked the payment to Republicans winning an election.
That is what makes Wednesday’s announcement so politically unusual.
## CIVICOHUB FACT CHECK
**Has Trump promised $5,000 to every adult American citizen?**
YES.
Trump publicly announced the proposal at the Republican convention in Dallas.
**Will Americans definitely receive $5,000?**
NO.
There is currently no approved program, no enacted legislation and no detailed funding mechanism.
**Is receiving the money conditional on an individual voting Republican?**
NO.
Trump tied implementation of the program to Republicans controlling Congress, not to how an individual recipient personally votes.
**Would Congress have to approve it?**
YES.
Congressional action would be required to authorize such a massive federal payment.
**Can tariff revenue currently cover the entire proposal?**
NO.
Available tariff revenues are nowhere near enough to finance a universal $5,000 payment costing potentially more than $1 trillion.
**Could it add to the national debt?**
YES — unless Congress finds sufficient spending cuts or additional revenue to pay for it.
## THE BOTTOM LINE
This is not yet a government benefit.
It is an election promise.
And it is an extraordinary one.
Less than two months before Americans decide control of Congress, the president is telling voters that a Republican victory could produce a **$5,000 payment for every qualifying adult citizen**.
Potential price tag:
**More than $1 trillion.**
Current national debt:
**More than $40 trillion.**
Detailed funding plan:
**None announced.**
Congressional approval:
**Still required.**
Trump calls it a dividend from America’s economic success.
His critics will inevitably call it something else.
But before deciding what to call it, there is a simpler question voters deserve answered:
**Where does the $5,000 come from?**
Until the White House and Congress provide that answer, the “Trump Dividend” remains a campaign promise — not a check in the mail.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, NOS — September 9–10, 2026.
#news #Trump #TrumpDividend #USPolitics #Midterms2026 #Republicans #Congress #Economy #NationalDebt #Inflation #Tariffs #FactCheck #Election2026 #FollowTheMoney
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🚨 TRUMP PROMISES AMERICANS A $5,000 “DIVIDEND” IF REPUBLICANS KEEP CONGRESS — BUT WHO PAYS FOR IT?
DALLAS — September 10, 2026 — President Donald Trump has made an extraordinary promise less than two months before the U.S. midterm elections:
If Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate on November 3, Trump says he wants to send **$5,000 to every adult American citizen**.
Trump unveiled the proposal Wednesday night at the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, calling the payment the:
**“Trump Dividend.”**
His condition was unmistakably political:
Republicans must keep control of Congress.
Trump also said the money would have to be **spent inside the United States**. But he gave no detailed explanation of where the enormous amount of money would come from or how the program would work.
## THE PRICE TAG: MORE THAN $1 TRILLION
This would not be a small stimulus program.
Reuters estimates that if approximately 270 million U.S. adults received $5,000 each, the total cost would reach roughly:
**$1.35 trillion.**
The actual figure could be lower depending on eligibility because Trump specifically referred to adult citizens, and Vice President JD Vance later suggested wealthy Americans might not receive the payment.
But even with exclusions, the cost would likely remain enormous.
For comparison, the United States is already running an annual federal budget deficit of nearly:
**$1.8 trillion.**
And the national debt recently passed:
**$40 trillion.**
Adding another trillion-dollar federal payment would therefore immediately raise questions about borrowing, inflation and the sustainability of government finances.
## TRUMP DIDN’T SAY WHERE THE MONEY WOULD COME FROM
Trump described the payment as a dividend generated by America’s economic success.
But he did not provide a financing plan.
Within an hour of Trump’s announcement, Vice President JD Vance suggested that **tariff revenues** could help fund the payments.
There is a major mathematical problem with that explanation.
According to the Associated Press, the amount required for the proposed dividends would **far exceed the tariff revenue collected by the federal government**.
So unless eligibility is dramatically restricted or another funding source is found, Congress would have to identify hundreds of billions — potentially more than $1 trillion — from somewhere else.
That could mean:
• higher government borrowing
• spending cuts elsewhere
• new taxes or revenue
• or some combination of all threeSo far, no detailed legislation has been released.
## CAN TRUMP JUST SEND THE CHECKS HIMSELF?
No.
Despite Trump previously suggesting presidents may have broad authority over similar payments, the $5,000 program would require congressional authorization or congressional cooperation.
That is one reason the promise is tied so closely to Republicans maintaining control of both chambers.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno has already said he intends to prepare legislation so the “Trump Dividend” could be passed immediately after the November election if Republicans win.
So voters should understand an important distinction:
**Trump has made a campaign promise.**
He has not created a $5,000 payment program.
No checks have been authorized.
No funding has been approved.
And no final eligibility rules currently exist.
## IS THIS LITERALLY “BUYING VOTES”?
Critics immediately described the promise as vote-buying.
Politically, it is easy to understand why.
Trump is effectively telling voters:
**Keep Republicans in power, and you could receive $5,000.**
But legally, the situation is more complicated.
An attorney consulted by the Associated Press said the proposal would not necessarily violate election laws because individual voters would not receive money in exchange for proving that they personally voted Republican.
The payment would instead be a government program available to qualifying Americans regardless of whether they voted Republican, Democratic, for another party — or did not vote at all.
That makes it fundamentally different from directly paying an individual for their vote.
Whether the eventual structure could face other legal challenges would depend on how Congress writes the legislation.
## THE TIMING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE
Trump did not announce the proposal during a White House economic briefing.
He announced it at a **Republican midterm convention**, during an event specifically designed to help Republicans retain control of Congress.
Trump even urged voters to behave as though **he himself were on the ballot**.
Republicans currently face a difficult electoral environment.
Several GOP candidates in competitive races skipped the Dallas convention, while polling shows widespread dissatisfaction with the cost of living and the continuing war with Iran.
Trump’s approval ratings have also fallen sharply.
That makes the $5,000 announcement more than an economic proposal.
It is now part of the Republican Party’s strategy for winning the November midterms.
## AND THEN THERE’S THE INFLATION QUESTION
Sending enormous amounts of cash into the economy can boost consumer spending.
That is partly the point.
But if consumer demand increases faster than the economy’s ability to produce goods and services, prices can also rise.
The United States experienced a similar debate after the massive stimulus packages issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those payments were introduced during an economic emergency.
Trump’s proposed dividend would arrive under very different circumstances — while the federal government is already running a huge deficit and carrying more than $40 trillion in debt.
That does not automatically mean a $5,000 payment would cause another inflation surge.
But a program potentially exceeding $1 trillion would be large enough that its economic consequences could not simply be ignored.
## THE “TRUMP DIVIDEND” HAS CHANGED BEFORE
Trump has previously floated the idea of returning government revenue directly to Americans.
Earlier in 2026, he proposed a smaller:
**$2,000 dividend.**
That proposal was never implemented.
Now the amount has jumped to:
**$5,000.**
And for the first time, Trump has explicitly linked the payment to Republicans winning an election.
That is what makes Wednesday’s announcement so politically unusual.
## CIVICOHUB FACT CHECK
**Has Trump promised $5,000 to every adult American citizen?**
YES.
Trump publicly announced the proposal at the Republican convention in Dallas.
**Will Americans definitely receive $5,000?**
NO.
There is currently no approved program, no enacted legislation and no detailed funding mechanism.
**Is receiving the money conditional on an individual voting Republican?**
NO.
Trump tied implementation of the program to Republicans controlling Congress, not to how an individual recipient personally votes.
**Would Congress have to approve it?**
YES.
Congressional action would be required to authorize such a massive federal payment.
**Can tariff revenue currently cover the entire proposal?**
NO.
Available tariff revenues are nowhere near enough to finance a universal $5,000 payment costing potentially more than $1 trillion.
**Could it add to the national debt?**
YES — unless Congress finds sufficient spending cuts or additional revenue to pay for it.
## THE BOTTOM LINE
This is not yet a government benefit.
It is an election promise.
And it is an extraordinary one.
Less than two months before Americans decide control of Congress, the president is telling voters that a Republican victory could produce a **$5,000 payment for every qualifying adult citizen**.
Potential price tag:
**More than $1 trillion.**
Current national debt:
**More than $40 trillion.**
Detailed funding plan:
**None announced.**
Congressional approval:
**Still required.**
Trump calls it a dividend from America’s economic success.
His critics will inevitably call it something else.
But before deciding what to call it, there is a simpler question voters deserve answered:
**Where does the $5,000 come from?**
Until the White House and Congress provide that answer, the “Trump Dividend” remains a campaign promise — not a check in the mail.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, NOS — September 9–10, 2026.
#news #Trump #TrumpDividend #USPolitics #Midterms2026 #Republicans #Congress #Economy #NationalDebt #Inflation #Tariffs #FactCheck #Election2026 #FollowTheMoney
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Trump says Iran war will end after US midterm elections
President Trump said the war with Iran will end 'immediately after' the US midterm elections in November, adding that Tehran was trying to influence the vote. #News #Reuters #Newsfeed #DonaldTrump #Iran #IranWar #USMidterms2026 #StraitOfHormuz #OilPrices #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #USPolitics #Election2026 #WhiteHouse #JointBaseAndrews #BreakingNews #WorldNews #EnergyMarkets #ForeignPolicy #TrumpApprovalRating…
https://fllics.com/zh/video/trump-says-iran-war-will-end-after-us-midterm-elections/
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Trump says Iran war will end after US midterm elections
President Trump said the war with Iran will end 'immediately after' the US midterm elections in November, adding that Tehran was trying to influence the vote. #News #Reuters #Newsfeed #DonaldTrump #Iran #IranWar #USMidterms2026 #StraitOfHormuz #OilPrices #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #USPolitics #Election2026 #WhiteHouse #JointBaseAndrews #BreakingNews #WorldNews #EnergyMarkets #ForeignPolicy #TrumpApprovalRating…
https://fllics.com/zh/video/trump-says-iran-war-will-end-after-us-midterm-elections/
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Trump says Iran war will end after US midterm elections
President Trump said the war with Iran will end 'immediately after' the US midterm elections in November, adding that Tehran was trying to influence the vote. #News #Reuters #Newsfeed #DonaldTrump #Iran #IranWar #USMidterms2026 #StraitOfHormuz #OilPrices #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #USPolitics #Election2026 #WhiteHouse #JointBaseAndrews #BreakingNews #WorldNews #EnergyMarkets #ForeignPolicy #TrumpApprovalRating…
https://fllics.com/zh/video/trump-says-iran-war-will-end-after-us-midterm-elections/
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Trump says Iran war will end after US midterm elections
President Trump said the war with Iran will end 'immediately after' the US midterm elections in November, adding that Tehran was trying to influence the vote. #News #Reuters #Newsfeed #DonaldTrump #Iran #IranWar #USMidterms2026 #StraitOfHormuz #OilPrices #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #USPolitics #Election2026 #WhiteHouse #JointBaseAndrews #BreakingNews #WorldNews #EnergyMarkets #ForeignPolicy #TrumpApprovalRating…
https://fllics.com/zh/video/trump-says-iran-war-will-end-after-us-midterm-elections/
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Trump says Iran war will end after US midterm elections
President Trump said the war with Iran will end 'immediately after' the US midterm elections in November, adding that Tehran was trying to influence the vote. #News #Reuters #Newsfeed #DonaldTrump #Iran #IranWar #USMidterms2026 #StraitOfHormuz #OilPrices #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #USPolitics #Election2026 #WhiteHouse #JointBaseAndrews #BreakingNews #WorldNews #EnergyMarkets #ForeignPolicy #TrumpApprovalRating…
https://fllics.com/zh/video/trump-says-iran-war-will-end-after-us-midterm-elections/
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https://www.europesays.com/people/221426/ Musk-Funded PAC Blasts Out Anti-Trans Ads in Midterms #2026Midterms #election #Election2026 #Elections #ElonMusk #MidtermElections #Musk #PoliticalAdvertising #Republicans #SuperPacs #transgender
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As Dems Race to Pick Up Senate Seats, NH Issues a Warning – Newser
As Dems Race to Pick Up Senate Seats, NH Issues a Warning NewserNew Hampshire Democrats Sound an Alarm: ‘We’re…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #ChrisPappas #Election2026 #JeanneShaheen #JohnSununu #KamalaHarris #KellyAyotte #MaggieHassan #SenateDemocrats #SenateMajorityPAC #senaterace #UnitedStates #Us #USA
https://www.newsbeep.com/722402/ -
https://www.europesays.com/africa/383844/ CECOE Flags Election Transparency and Inclusion Gaps #AddisAbaba #CECOE #Election2026 #electioninethiopia #EthioNegari #Ethiopia #Ethiopianews
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Legislators delay 2026 primary, buying time for midterm redistricting
This story was first reported by Louisiana Illuminator and republished with permission.
Republicans in the Louisiana Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to pushing back 2026 primary election dates, capping a one-week special session that sets the stage for revising the state’s U.S. House districts ahead of next year’s congressional midterms.
Their calendar adjustment banks on the U.S. Supreme bucking its pattern of issuing decisions in the spring and instead making a ruling in a key redistricting case before Christmas.
In the GOP’s preferred scenario, justices would issue a decision in the case by Dec. 20 that would clear the way for legislators to redraw the maps in an early January special session. The ruling might allow Republican lawmakers to remove one or both majority Black districts that Black Democrats currently hold out of the state’s six U.S. House seats.
The second district, represented by Baton Rouge Democrat Cleo Fields, includes a portion of north Lafayette.
In the case in question, Louisiana v. Callais, Attorney General Liz Murrill has argued that race was used illegally to draw boundaries of the 6th Congressional District that state lawmakers gave bipartisan approval to in early 2024. Specifically, she has called into question whether Section 2 the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 violates the U.S. Constitution.
The section of the landmark civil rights legislation prohibits voting laws or procedures that discriminate based on race, color or membership in a language minority group. Murrill contends Section 2 conflicts with the 14th and 15th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which cover representation in Congress and racial discrimination in voting, respectively.
News Published:October 28, 3:38 pmAre you gardening for the future?
From backyards to bayous, native plants are helping Louisiana grow stronger. Here’s how one family’s restoration shows what it means to garden for the future.
Read MoreBlack Democrats in the Louisiana Legislature led opposition to pushing back qualifying and party primary elections dates a month to allow for a possible redistricting. They noted that Murrill and Republicans, including Gov. Jeff Landry, originally supported and called for the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana to avoid having a federal court drawing the lines.
After an initial hearing in March, the Supreme Court scheduled a rare second round of arguments for the parties in Callais for October, asking them to evaluate whether Louisiana’s current congressional map violates the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It was then that Murrill ended her defense of the map and joined the white plaintiffs who sued to block it.
The decision in the case could determine the degree to which race can be considered when drawing election maps after each decennial census, creating nationwide implications.
Justices could simply keep as is Louisiana’s challenged 6th Congressional District, which Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, currently holds. But if Fields’ district is rejected without undermining the Voting Rights Act, state lawmakers would have to approve a new congressional map with two majority Black districts.
Justices could also overturn Fields’ district and scale back Section 2. Republicans would then have the opportunity to eliminate either or both of the state’s two majority Black districts.
Throughout the special session, Black lawmakers were pointed in their remarks toward Republican colleagues, saying that they are carrying out President Donald Trump’s orders to help preserve the GOP’s majority in Congress. Several Republican-led states have launched efforts to redraw their House districts, a process that typically takes place closer to the completion of the decennial U.S. census.
Rep. Candace Newell, a Black Democrat from New Orleans, noted the redistricting cycle based on the 2020 census was the first since the U.S. Department of Justice ended its preclearance of Louisiana’s election mapmaking process. A Supreme Court decision in 2013 determined the oversight was unconstitutional, weakening Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act.
“We are seeing now that the South is not far enough removed from racist practices where we can trust that the fundamentally correct thing will be done,” Newell said to House members.
Rep. Beau Beaullieu, who co-authored the bill to push back qualifying and primary dates next year, pushed back on this as well as suggestions that the changes would create confusion among voters.
He framed the special session as an opportunity to position the state to act quickly if the Supreme Court rules soon on Callias. The fact that justices held a second hearing in the Callais could lead to a ruling from the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, he said.
“I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities that, because they’ve delayed us already, they wouldn’t provide us with a decision before the end of the year,” Beaullieu told lawmakers Wednesday.
Are two members of Congress better than one?Louisiana’s redrawn congressional map positions Lafayette to have two representatives in Congress, potentially a Republican and a Democrat.
Even if a Supreme Court ruling invalidates Louisiana’s current congressional map, the state would not be obligated to implement new maps for the 2026 election.
The date changes lawmakers approved in a 73-29 vote move next year’s primary election schedule back roughly one month. Instead of an April 18 party primary for Louisiana’s congressional races and some municipal elections, the new date would be May 16. Primary runoffs would be moved from May 30 to June 2.
The qualifying period for the election would be adjusted from Jan. 14-16 to Feb. 11-13.
A separate measure lawmakers approved moves five state constitutional amendments and local propositions on the March ballot to the new April date.
Beaullieu said the Secretary of State would need the legislature to provide a new congressional district map by Jan. 13 in order for her office to hold the qualifying period a month later.
Next year’s congressional midterm election will be the first Louisiana holds under a closed primary system since 1975. Lawmakers chose in 2024 to end the state’s open “jungle” primary process that places candidates from all parties in a weed-out election and sends the top two vote-getters to a runoff unless someone claims more than 50% of the primary vote. The implementation of closed primaries was delayed until 2026.
