BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill said Thursday that, following the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, the state is legally prohibited from using its current congressional map that includes a second Black-majority district.

"The Supreme Court previously stayed an injunction against the State’s enforcement of the current Congressional map. By the Court’s order, however, that stay automatically terminated with yesterday’s decision," Landry and Murrill said in a joint statement.

The decision, they said, had "an immediate consequence" for elections in Louisiana. The state's May 16 open primary starts early voting on Saturday. 

The pair said that the state is barred from carrying out congressional elections under the current map.

"We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward," the statement added.

Previous reporting indicated that Landry and other state leaders were considering delaying the primary following the decision.

The 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais said that the 6th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, relied too heavily on race.

“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the six conservatives.

The decision weakens the Voting Rights Act’s protections against discrimination in redistricting. It’s unclear how much is left of the provision, known as Section 2, the main way to challenge racially discriminatory election practices.