Alabama should attempt to claw back some of the legal fees paid out to a court-ordered special master and left-wing plaintiffs after the state's major victory in the state's congressional redistricting battle on Tuesday, according to State Sen. Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman).
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled Tuesday, 6-3, in favor of Alabama's efforts to use a 6-1 Republican congressional map for the 2026 election.
Gudger said in a statement on Tuesday after the ruling, "The ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is a victory for plain old, everyday Alabama common sense that was used when the Legislature set aside race and used communities of interest and other factors to craft congressional maps."
"This case has cost Alabama taxpayers more than $8 million, which includes $5.25 million awarded to the plaintiff's attorneys, $3 million to a separate pool of plaintiff legal fees, and more than $515,000 paid to the court-appointed special master team, and with this ruling in our favor, the state should seek any opportunity to claw back every penny that was paid," Gudger said. "We argued from day one that our congressional maps were both constitutional and fair to all Alabamians, and the highest court in our nation has offered irrefutable evidence of those facts."
The decision allows the August 11 special primary election to proceed under the 2023 congressional map drawn by the Legislature. The candidates who qualified by May 22 under the 2023 map will be on the ballot on August 11.
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