Democrats hope to flip a reliably Republican Louisiana congressional seat with new boundaries

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In a critical election year, Democrats are looking to flip a once reliably Republican Louisiana congressional seat, where political boundaries were recently redrawn to form the state’s second mostly Black congressional district.

With five people on the ballot for Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District, Democrats have thrown their support behind longtime politician Cleo Fields, 61. The state senator has been involved in state politics for three decades and served two terms in Congress after being elected in 1992.

Across the aisle, Republicans are looking to preserve the seat, especially in an election year where the GOP is trying to hold on to their majority in the U.S. House. The only Republican on the ballot is former state lawmaker Elbert Guillory, 80.

For nearly 50 years, only one Democrat has won the seat in Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District. But the district’s boundaries have recently been recrafted.

In January state lawmakers passed Louisiana’s new congressional map with a second majority-Black district, marking a win for Democrats and civil rights groups after a legal battle and political tug-of-war that spanned nearly two years.

The new 6th District boundaries stretch across the state in a narrow and diagonal path, from the state capital, Baton Rouge, to Shreveport in the northwest corner. Black residents account for 54% of its voters, up from 24% previously. Both Fields and Guillory are Black.

A lower court ruled that the new map was an illegal racial gerrymander, but in May the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to use it in this year’s congressional elections — boosting Democrats’ chances of gaining control of the closely divided House.

Currently, out of Louisiana’s six congressional seats, there is one Democrat, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, the state’s sole Black member of Congress.

Noticeably absent from the race is incumbent U.S. Rep. Garret Graves. The white Republican announced that he would not seek reelection, saying that it did not make sense to run under the new map.

All of Louisiana’s six congressional seats are up for election. The five other races feature incumbents, including two of the country's most powerful Republicans – U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Also seeking reelection are Carter and Republicans Clay Higgins and Julia Letlow. All the incumbents are facing lesser-known challengers on the ballot.

Kendra Franklin looks for assistance as she votes with her children, Mi'Kayla and Kendall, right, at a campus polling place at Southern University, an HBCU, in Baton Rouge, La., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students and a member of the Zulu Tramps march to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students line up to vote at a campus polling place at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students and members of the Zulu Tramps march to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jaqquelyn Germany reaches out for a hug as students march and dance to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students march and dance to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students march and dance to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Voting machines are loaded onto trucks from a warehouse in New Orleans East to be delivered across the parish on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, the day before the presidential election. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Voting machines and signs are loaded onto trucks from a warehouse in New Orleans East for delivery across the parish on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, the day before the presidential election. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — After an election season marked by concerns over disinformation, foreign influence and worrisome threats to election workers and voting systems, Election Day unfolded relatively smoothly nationwide with only scattered disruptions and delays.

Leading into Tuesday, more than 82 million Americans had already cast their ballots in a largely successful early voting period with high turnout despite some hiccups and frustrations in the presidential battleground of Pennsylvania.

And when the final day of voting came, the problems that cropped up were “largely expected routine and planned-for events,” said Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She said the agency was not currently tracking any national, significant incidents impacting election security.

Issues affecting voters on Tuesday included typical election mishaps, from a worker forgetting a key in Arizona's largest county to an election judge failing to show up at the polls in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County. Some precincts around the country faced issues with voter check-in processes and e-pollbooks, causing some delays for voters trying to cast ballots. Some areas had ballot printing mistakes and were printing new ballots and extending voting hours accordingly. Extreme weather across the midsection of the country also caused flooding and some other isolated problems, including knocking out power for at least one Missouri polling place that resorted to a generator to keep voting up and running.

Still, in various states affected by rain, voters enthusiastically huddled under umbrellas as they lined up to cast their ballots, not deterred in a presidential election that many U.S. voters view as crucially important to the future of U.S. democracy.

In the western part of the key swing state of Pennsylvania, a few counties saw reports of issues with tabulator machines that scan and count paper ballots filled out by voters. A Pennsylvania state judge ordered polls to remain open for two extra hours in Cambria County, which voted 68% for former President Donald Trump in 2020. The county sought the extension after a software malfunction affected the ballot-scanning machines, though county officials said no one was turned away from the polls and all ballots would be counted. It was yet to be seen how the extension might affect vote-counting timelines in the tight battleground.

In Georgia, another presidential swing state, fewer than a dozen precincts were set to stay open late because of delayed openings or evacuations due to alleged bomb threats that were found to be non-credible, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. That included two precincts in Cobb County, which is northwest of Atlanta. They were staying open until 7:20 p.m. because they opened late due to equipment issues.

The FBI on Tuesday afternoon said it was aware of multiple non-credible bomb threats to polling locations in several states and said many of them appeared to originate from Russian email domains.

The massive early voting turnout before Tuesday — slightly more than half the total number of votes in the presidential election four years earlier — was driven partly by Republican voters, who cast early ballots at a higher rate than in recent previous elections after a campaign by Trump and the Republican National Committee to counter the Democrats' longstanding advantage in the early vote.

The early voting period faced minimal problems, even in western North Carolina, which was hammered last month by Hurricane Helene. State and local election officials, benefiting from changes made by the Republican-controlled legislature, pulled off a herculean effort to ensure residents could cast their ballots as they dealt with power outages, lack of water and washed out roads. That appeared to continue on Tuesday, with the North Carolina Board of Elections reporting no voting issues.

Besides the hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida, the most worrisome disruptions to the election season so far were arson attacks that damaged ballots in two drop boxes near the Oregon-Washington border. Authorities there were still searching for the person responsible.

The absence of any significant, widespread problems has not stopped Trump, the Republican nominee, or the RNC, which is now under his sway, from making numerous claims of fraud or election interference during the early voting period, a possible prelude to challenges after Election Day.

Trump on Tuesday suggested he wouldn't challenge the results of the election — as long as it's fair.

“If it's a fair elections, I'd be the first one to acknowledge” the results, Trump said, though what meets that definition wasn't clear.

A late effort by Republicans to challenge Atlanta-area election offices' collection of mail ballots last weekend after early voting had ended was rejected as “frivolous,” with Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker saying the GOP argument “does not withstand even the most basic level of statutory review and reading comprehension.”

Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, has urged voters not to fall for Trump's tactic of casting doubt on elections. She was spending Tuesday afternoon turning out her own vote at a phone bank hosted by the Democratic National Committee, and said phone banking represents “the best of who we are.”

This is the first presidential vote since Trump lost to Joe Biden four years ago and began various attempts to circumvent the outcome and remain in power. That climaxed with the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to halt certification of the results after Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell.”

Even now, a solid majority of Republicans believe Trump's lie that Biden was not legitimately elected, despite reviews, audits and recounts in the battleground states that all affirmed Biden's win.

Through four years of election lies and voting-related conspiracy theories, local election officials have faced harassment and even death threats. That has prompted high turnover and led to heightened security for election offices and polling sites that includes panic buttons and bullet-proof glass.

While there have been no major reports of any malicious cyberactivity affecting election offices, foreign actors have been active in using fake social media profiles and websites to drum up partisan vitriol and disinformation. In the final weeks, U.S. intelligence officials have attributed to Russia multiple fake videos alleging election fraud in presidential swing states.

On the eve of Election Day, officials issued a joint statement with federal law enforcement agencies warning that Russia in particular was ramping up its influence operations, including in ways that could incite violence, and likely would continue those efforts well after the votes had been cast.

Jen Easterly, the nation’s top election security official, urged Americans to rely on state and local election officials for information about elections.

“This is especially important as we are in an election cycle with an unprecedented amount of disinformation, including disinformation being aggressively peddled and amplified by our foreign adversaries at a greater scale than ever before,” she said. “We cannot allow our foreign adversaries to have a vote in our democracy.”

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A poll worker sets up before a polling place opens, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Election workers process mail-in ballots for the 2024 General Election at the Philadelphia Election Warehouse, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ingrid Bender, a supporter of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Jonathan Foust, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, offer rosters of who to vote for in their political parties to voters arriving at a polling place in Cranberry, Pa., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

People cast their ballots, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

An election worker processes mail-in ballots for the 2024 General Election at the Philadelphia Election Warehouse, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

People stand in line to vote at the Reno Town Mall, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)

Janice Prior votes at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation building Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Rossville, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Chicago school teacher Tabitha Berry, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, fills out a ballot for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Ronnie Brookshire votes, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Canton, N.C. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Voters arrive at the 146-year-old Buck Creek School to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in rural Perry, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Vesta Avery, 2, helps her mother Alexis Taylor mark her ballot at P.S. M811, The Mickey Mantle School, in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Voters work on their ballots at a polling place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Three-year-old Zayn, sits on his father's shoulders as he inserts his ballot into a machine to vote at the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Election workers process mail-in ballots for the 2024 General Election at the Chester County, Pa., administrative offices, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in West Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A voter casts their ballot at a drop box in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Chet Strange)

Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Volunteers check the ballots at the Bronx County Supreme Court in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Rain pours down while voters are waiting in line to cast their vote on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 at West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Voters cast their ballots at the Bronx County Supreme Court in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Voters fill out their ballots Hilton Township Hall in Conroy, Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette via AP)

Rain pours down while voters are waiting in line to cast their vote on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 at West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Faith Denison, 38, left, holds her son, Lincoln Denison, 3, moments after casting her vote at the Centre of Palm Harbor, Fla., for the 2024 General Election on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2024. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Voters cast their ballots at the Bronx County Supreme Court in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Stickers lay on a table inside a polling place, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Voters line up to cast their ballots at The Church at Brook Hills on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks after voting on Election Day at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Three-year-old Zayn, sits on his father's shoulders as he votes at the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Liza Fortt, 74, center, waits in line to cast her ballot for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at her polling place at Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Election day worker Sean Vander Waal prepares to open a polling place,Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Voters stand in line while waiting for a polling place to open, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Springfield, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Voters stand in line while waiting for a polling place to open, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Springfield, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

People arrive at polling place to vote, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Springfield, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Voters line up to enter their polling place at the Cincinnati Observatory on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

People wait in line to cast their ballots at an early voting location, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Blue Springs, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

An elections official sorts counted mail-in ballots on the first day of tabulation, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

FILE - A Delaware County secured drop box for the return of vote-by-mail ballots is pictured, May 2, 2022, in Newtown Square, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

People line up to vote at the Chicago Early Voting Loop Supersite in Chicago, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A voter fills out their their ballot during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

An election worker demonstrates mail-in ballot processing during a media preview at the Philadelphia Election Warehouse, in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A person walks past a sign during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Voters line up to vote as a early voting location opened in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

The final day of voting in the US is here, after tens of millions have already cast their ballots

The final day of voting in the US is here, after tens of millions have already cast their ballots

People stand in line during the last day of early voting, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)