The Alabama legislation, which needs only a final Senate vote to go to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, seeks to leverage a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Louisiana case that significantly weakened the practice in some states of drawing district lines aimed at benefiting a certain race.
Republicans in Southern states have moved quickly to try to capitalize on the case. Tennessee enacted new congressional districts Thursday that carve up a Democratic-held, black-majority district in Memphis. Louisiana postponed its U.S. House primaries as lawmakers work to enact new districts. And Republicans in the South Carolina House also have proposed a new U.S. House map.
Even before the high court ruling, Republicans and Democrats already were engaged in a fierce redistricting battle, each seeking an edge in the midterm elections that will determine control of the closely divided House.
Since President Donald Trump prodded Texas to redraw its congressional districts last summer, a total of nine states have adopted new House districts. From that, Republicans think they could gain as many as 14 seats while Democrats think they could gain up to 10. But the parties may not get everything they sought, because the gerrymandering could backfire in some highly competitive districts.
Alabama primaries could be in flux
Alabama has asked federal judges to lift a court order requiring the state to have a second district where black voters are the majority or close to it. That district gave rise in 2024 to the election of Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who is Black.
Republicans instead want to put in place a map lawmakers drew in 2023 — which was rejected by a federal court — that could allow them to reclaim Figures’ district. Black residents currently make up about 48% of the district’s voting-age population. That would drop to about 39% under the 2023 map.
Republicans hope the federal courts will see the case differently in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Louisiana decision. If a court grants Alabama’s request, the legislation under consideration would ignore the May 19 primary for some congressional seats and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.
