BATON ROUGE - For months, Louisiana lawmakers have been open about the possibility of a special legislative session near the end of October, but the reason for it has likely changed.

Next April, Louisiana is scheduled to hold a Party Primary for U.S Senate, U.S. Representative, and other positions, but lawmakers say the congressional race could be pushed to another date.

“This is one of those things that it’s almost like a daily chess match or ping-pong game,” John Couvillion with JMC Analytics said.

In this case, the ball is a map that, since 2021, has bounced from the Louisiana State Capitol to the courtroom. Last year, lawmakers created a second majority-minority district, stretching from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. The map garnered bipartisan support, but then a lawsuit was filed saying the map relied too heavily on race.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to discuss whether the new map is in line with the Voting Rights Act, which bans discrimination in the elections process, ensuring all votes carry the same power.

“I think it's going to determine how we go forward in many states, not just Louisiana,” State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle said.

Lawmakers were expected to return to Baton Rouge for a special session and possibly redraw the congressional maps again, in case the Supreme Court determined the maps were unconstitutional.

"I never saw the need to come back in and redraw the district,” Marcelle said. “It was a bipartisan agreement.”

Now, legislators could return to push back the April primary, and if the courts determine that the latest set of congressional maps are unconstitutional, then the maps could differ when it comes time for the congressional election.