MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives was especially tense on Wednesday morning as lawmakers voted to invoke cloture during deliberations on a bill that would allow the state to utilize district maps it is currently federally enjoined from using.
The special session was called after the 6-3 majority ruling in Louisiana v. Callias, in which the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) held that race-based redistricting is unconstitutional. Alabama swiftly reacted, filing motions to have the injunction on the congressional map approved by lawmakers in 2023 lifted. The 2023 map followed an initial map that was blocked by a federal court, forcing lawmakers to redraw it. Despite the redrawing, a three-judge panel likewise found that the 2023 map likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
A federally appointed special master drew a map for the State to use in the 2024 election, and the State remains under a court order prohibiting the use of new congressional maps until after the 2030 Census.
The bill approved by the House on Wednesday would require the state to hold a special election for the 2026 congressional race using the 2023 map if SCOTUS lifts the injunction.
The bill's sponsor, House Pro Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile), stood at the podium for over four hours while sundry Democrats accused Republican lawmakers of racism by diluting black representation in using the 2023 maps. Others speculated that the entire state was in contempt of court for challenging a ruling it had previously agreed to.
"Are we not in this chamber right now in violation of that order?" asked House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville).
"The State has always defended its ability to use a legislatively drawn map," Pringle replied. "In our statement, we would not challenge the length of the injunction. We never said we wouldn't challenge the legal basis of the injunction. And after Callais, we believe we basically are on the right side. We have the right to appeal."
Notably missing from Wednesday's proceedings was any vocal defense from House Republicans. Despite the bevy of Democratic lambasting of the proposed legislation, not one Republican lawmaker spoke up in defense, except Pringle's own exculpations spoken in retort.
Things did get confrontational on several occasions. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) twice had to slam his gavel to calm tempers on the floor.
While Ledbetter was away from his seat, State Rep. Thomas Jackson (D-Thomasville) asked Pringle if he was schizophrenic, to which Pringle pointed his finger and emphatically stated, "That's an attack on my character, and I'm not going to put up with it."
Ledbetter threatened to turn off the microphone of State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) for not staying germane to the bill after she tried to rant about previous attempts to stifle black votes in America's history.
The oftentimes less-than-subtle accusation of racism was also prevalent from Democratic lawmakers, accusing the Republican supermajority of trying to cut down Democratic representation in Congress. Currently, Democrats control two of Alabama's seven congressional seats. Congressional District 2 was flipped from Republican after the State used the federally imposed map in the 2024 election.
After roughly four hours of Democratic protests against the bill, House Majority Leader Paul Lee (R-Dothan) called for a vote on the previous question, the House's nomenclature for limiting further debate to 10 minutes.
The motion on the previous question passed along party lines, followed by eight minutes of further protest by State Rep. Prince Chestnut (D-Selma). Pringle, seemingly annoyed by his lengthy time at the podium, finally stated, "It's obvious, as an attorney, you've gone back and studied all this. You're trying to twist and use my words against me, and I'm just going to let you talk."
The bill passed 75-29, followed swiftly by a motion to adjourn. State Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise), who is facing former U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) and others in the race for Alabama's First Congressional District, abstained from voting.
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