Alabama GOP passes bill delaying House primaries if courts OK redistricting
Alabama lawmakers approved a Republican-backed bill that would let Gov. Kay Ivey postpone or reschedule House congressional primary elections in districts affected by potential court-approved changes to the state’s congressional map,ahead of the 2026 midterms. The effort is tied to a renewed legal and political fight over redistricting after a recent U.S.Supreme Court decision in a Louisiana Voting Rights Act case weakened protections used by challengers to congressional maps.
The dispute centers on Alabama’s 2023 congressional map, which initially contained only one majority-Black district despite Black residents making up about 27% of the population. A federal court previously found the map likely violated the Voting Rights Act and ordered a second district that enabled Democrats to win Alabama’s congressional seats in 2024, including Rep. Shomari Figures. While Alabama currently has five Republican and two Democratic House seats, proposed map changes could potentially shift the balance by creating an additional GOP seat.
Republicans argue the Supreme Court ruling reopened the issue and that emergency action is needed before Alabama’s May 19 primaries, with attorney General Steve Marshall filing emergency motions to lift federal restrictions on an earlier GOP-backed map. Democrats and civil rights groups condemned the bill as an attempt to alter election rules mid-cycle and reduce Black depiction, with protesters demonstrating at the statehouse. The Alabama move follows similar actions in Louisiana, where congressional primaries were delayed to allow district line changes after the Supreme Court decision.
Alabama lawmakers passed legislation Friday that would allow the state to delay congressional primary elections if federal courts approve a new district map amid renewed legal and political battle over redistricting in the South ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The Republican-backed bill, approved after heated debate in the Alabama legislature, would give Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) authority to postpone or reschedule House primaries in districts affected by possible court-ordered map changes.
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The legislation comes as Alabama officials seek to revive a previously blocked congressional map that could shift Rep. Shomari Figures’s (D-AL) district and possibly boost Republican chances in the state’s congressional delegation.
The move follows a recent Supreme Court decision in a Louisiana redistricting case that weakened key Voting Rights Act protections used in challenges against congressional maps in southern states. Republican-led legislatures in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina have since moved quickly to revisit district lines before November’s elections.
In Alabama, the legal fight centers on the state’s 2023 congressional map, which originally contained only one majority-black district despite black residents making up roughly 27% of the population.
A federal court previously ruled the map likely violated the Voting Rights Act and ordered the creation of a second district where black voters could elect their preferred candidate. That court-drawn map led Democrats to win Alabama congressional seats in 2024, including Figures.
Alabama’s congressional delegation map has five GOP seats and two Democrat seats, but the proposed map could create an additional Republican seat.
Republican state leaders argue the Supreme Court’s recent ruling reopened the problem and justified emergency action before Alabama’s scheduled May 19 congressional primaries. State Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed emergency motions seeking to lift federal restrictions on the earlier GOP-backed map.
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Democrats and civil rights activists blasted the legislation during floor debate, accusing Republicans of attempting to change election rules mid-cycle and weaken black representation in Congress. Protesters gathered at the Alabama Statehouse throughout the special session, chanting “Down with white supremacy.”
The Alabama bill mirrors actions already taken in neighboring Louisiana, where officials delayed congressional primaries to allow lawmakers time to consider new district boundaries after the Supreme Court ruling.
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