During Friday's broadcast of Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) revealed a possible timeline for a transition to a 7-0 Republican-dominated congressional map in Alabama.
"I think it happens certainly by 2030," Elliott said. "It may happen sooner, but we were not going to be able to do that in the special session we just had. That would have restarted the entire court process and proceedings, and we would have ended up with nothing."
According to Elliott, a 7-0 layout is attainable if Alabama "plays the long game" on the issue.
"So, you had to take a bit of an incremental approach and understand not just clock management from a time standpoint, but field position, and play the field position too," he explained. "That's exactly what we did. I think the fact that we're out from underneath the Department of Justice and the fact that we have this Supreme Court ruling, letting us move forward with a 7-0. map. I expect that the legislature will study that, look at it, and find the appropriate time to do that. But it's important to play the long game on this."
Elliott added, "I don't want us to get greedy either, and end up in a spot where we do something that lands us back in court, where we could have just waited until 2030 and then gotten it done."
The legislator said he believed the likelihood of a fully conservative congressional map would be bolstered following the next census count.
"Typically, we redistrict every 10 years. That's the typical cycle. So, I think that it is a certain thing that we will end up with 7-0 in 2030, or 2031, by the time the census numbers come out, is when we'll be looking at that."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every day.
