Supreme Court Voting Rights

Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga, right, looks on as Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks with the news media after departing the Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case drawing new congressional district boundaries, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington.

 Associate Press Photo by Cliff Owen

My grandmother had a phrase she used when she watched somebody move too fast. Not when they were eager. Not when they were excited. When they were guilty. She'd narrow her eyes and say, "Up to no good."

The Supreme Court handed down its decision in Louisiana v. Callais on a Wednesday. By Thursday — before the ruling was even certified — Gov. Jeff Landry had suspended Louisiana's House primary elections so the Legislature could redraw the congressional map. As U.S. Rep. Troy Carter pointed out, mail ballots were already out, early voting was set to begin that Saturday, and soldiers overseas had already cast votes that wouldn't count.

A day. Landry gave it a day.

You don't move that fast on a process you believe in. You don't suspend an active election unless you already know what map you want and you already know the public won't like how you got it. The speed is the tell.

If this were about fair representation, there would be hearings. There would be public input. There would be the slow, patient, grinding work of democracy that doesn't make the cable news. Instead, we got an executive order and a thank-you note for moving quickly.

My grandmother wouldn't need a law degree to read this one. She'd read it from the porch. She'd read it from the speed alone. Up to no good.

DAVID W. HOOVER

New Orleans

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