Jacob Russell, a chemistry student at Louisiana State University, arrived at his Baton Rouge polling place on Saturday and cast his votes as planned: picking candidates in the Senate and House primary elections and weighing in on a series of constitutional amendments.
But his choice of House candidate will not count. Instead, Mr. Russell and voters throughout Louisiana will have to return to the polls in November to cast their ballots again.
“Principle,” Mr. Russell, 20, said when asked why he still voted for his choice of House candidate. “It was there. They’re going somewhere, even if it’s not counted.”
The confusing ballot in Saturday’s election came after the Supreme Court rejected the state’s current map as an illegal racial gerrymander. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, then delayed House elections so lawmakers could draw new district lines. But ballots were printed before the court’s decision, and voters could still make their choice for the House known, even though it wouldn’t count.
In the muddled aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling — which weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and created a swell of partisan moves across the South — some voters said they were demonstrating how much they value their vote.
Louisiana, with its map thrown out by the court, has been at the center of that partisan scramble to redraw districts. Mr. Landry was the first to delay House primaries for a new map; at least one other state has followed suit.
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