The Alabama governor has set new election plans after the Supreme Court cleared the state to move forward with its preferred congressional map.
The decision, issued Monday in a 6–3 ruling by the Supreme Court, allowed Alabama to revert to its 2023 legislature-approved congressional map while lower courts revisit the case under a new legal standard established in Louisiana v. Callais. That earlier ruling raised the threshold for proving intentional racial discrimination in redistricting cases.
In response, Alabama officials announced special elections on Tuesday. Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) said the ruling affirms the state’s authority over its own districts and elections.
“Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best,” Ivey said. “The United States Supreme Court’s decision is plain common sense and enables our values to be best represented in Congress. For years, we have fought for this outcome, and I am proud to celebrate this win for Alabamians.”
She added that voters will now have “another opportunity to send strong voices to Washington,” encouraging participation in an August 11 special primary election for affected congressional districts, as well as the previously scheduled May 19 primary elections for other races.
The ruling stems from a long-running redistricting dispute over Alabama’s congressional map, which lower courts had previously found likely violated voting rights protections by diluting black voting strength. Those rulings required the creation of a map with two majority-minority districts.
Republican lawmakers in Alabama have pushed to restore the 2023 map, which would reduce the number of majority-black districts from two to one by reshaping District 2.
At the same time, plaintiffs in Allen v. Milligan, a key redistricting case regarding Alabama’s congressional map, filed an emergency motion seeking to preserve the court-ordered map. They argued that the Supreme Court’s recent decision does not undermine earlier findings that Alabama needed an additional opportunity district and that the state’s remedial map was drawn without racial targeting.
BY THE NUMBERS: HOW MANY SEATS HAS EACH PARTY GAINED IN REDISTRICTING?
Absentee voting began in March, and while votes in most races will still count, ballots cast in the affected congressional districts will be voided and recast under the new election schedule.
The Alabama case is part of a broader national wave of redistricting battles. Several Republican states, including Louisiana, Florida, and Tennessee, have moved quickly to redraw maps following the court’s April ruling in Callais.