Alabama Governor Announces Special Elections for 4 Districts After Supreme Court Decision

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on May 12 announced special primary elections for four House districts, one day after the Supreme Court allowed the state to use its legislature-drawn congressional map for the midterms.

After the Supreme Court’s landmark Voting Rights Act ruling last month, Alabama asked the high court to allow it to use a congressional map drawn by the state legislature in 2023.

The map was previously rejected for violating the Voting Rights Act, as it would redraw the state to have one majority-black district rather than two.

The Supreme Court gave Alabama the go-ahead on May 11, vacating the lower court rulings that would have required Alabama to keep using its existing map with the two majority-black districts.

Ivey had said before the May 11 court decision that she would announce special primary elections for the districts affected by the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision if the justices also allowed Alabama to move forward with its new map.

“I will continue to say: Alabama knows our state, our people, and our districts best. The United States Supreme Court’s decision is plain common sense and enables our values to be best represented in Congress,” Ivey said in a statement on May 12.

“For years, we have fought for this outcome, and I am proud to celebrate this win for Alabamians.”

Voters in the affected congressional districts—First, Second, Sixth, and Seventh—will be able to participate in the special primary elections on Aug. 11. There will be no runoff election, and the general will still take place alongside other statewide races on Nov. 3.

The unaffected congressional districts will still hold their primary elections on May 19, according to the governor’s office.

Democrats currently hold two of the four districts. The new map would give the GOP a chance to flip the Second District, which is held by Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.).

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) currently represents the Seventh District, which includes portions of the Birmingham and Montgomery metropolitan areas.

Reps. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) and Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) represent the First and Sixth districts, respectively.

Figures criticized the Supreme Court decision allowing Alabama to use the 2023 map in a statement on social media on May 11.

“This Supreme Court did not dismiss the case, so the litigation will certainly continue,” Figures said. “My hope is that this is a temporary setback and that three-Republican appointed judges will again find what they found the first time: that the State of Alabama intentionally discriminated against black voters in drawing its congressional district lines.”

Matthew Vadum contributed to this report.