Alabama's Republican leadership is preparing for a potential overhaul of its congressional districts, moving Friday to ensure the state can hold new primary elections if courts permit the maps to change before November's midterms.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that would authorize special primary elections in affected districts should redrawn maps take effect. The measure gives Republicans a procedural pathway to implement a new electoral landscape, even as the state's May 19 primaries approach under the current map.
The push follows a seismic U.S. Supreme Court decision on Louisiana's redistricting that limited the consideration of race in drawing district lines. Emboldened by that ruling, Alabama Republicans have asked federal courts to replace a judicially-imposed map with one the legislature approved in 2023. That earlier version reduces the number of majority-minority districts from two to one, eliminating what Republicans view as artificially Democratic territory.
In 2023, a federal court required Alabama to maintain two districts with strong Black voting power: one majority-Black seat in the 7th Congressional District and a second "opportunity" district in the 2nd where Black residents form a plurality. Both districts currently elect Democrats, including Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures, both Black lawmakers.
The Republican-controlled Legislature cheered the move as a correction. State House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter called the existing map "a racially gerrymandered disgrace" and predicted that redrawing would flip the 2nd District to Republican hands while making the 7th competitive.
"This guarantees that the Second Congressional District which was wrongfully handed to democrats on a silver platter by the courts is flipped back to republican control," Ledbetter said, noting that legal constraints prevented Alabama from simply enacting a new map outright as Tennessee did this week.
Alabama's bid is part of a broader Republican offensive sweeping the South. Tennessee's governor signed a new congressional map Thursday that dismantles his state's sole majority-Black district. Louisiana delayed primary elections after its map was invalidated. South Carolina Republicans are similarly weighing their options.
Democrats in Alabama fought back against the framing. State Sen. Vivan Davis Figures, whose son is the congressman from the 2nd District, directly challenged the underlying premise of the Republican push.
"Today we are not debating maps, we are debating democracy itself," she said. "We're debating whether power matters more than principle."
The federal courts and potentially the Supreme Court will decide whether Alabama can proceed. Republicans filed a similar request with the nation's highest court Friday, positioning the issue to potentially reach justices before the fall campaign season fully unfolds. Control of the House hangs in the balance in 2024, making every district consequential.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This isn't just about Alabama redrawing lines; it's the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Louisiana being weaponized across the South to erase Black voting strength before voters even get a say this fall."
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