Governor Kay Ivey called a special session on redistricting on Friday.
According to the proclamation, the session will start at 4 p.m. on Monday.
“Following the successful 2020 census, Alabama maintained our representation in Congress, and I called a special session to redraw our maps. Since then, we have been battling federal courts and activist groups who think they know Alabama better than Alabama,” Ivey said. “Earlier this week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a positive decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case, which I said was encouraging for our own pending litigation. I also acknowledged that Alabama’s redistricting battle is not over. The state remains under a court order prohibiting the use of new congressional maps until after the 2030 census. While we were not yet in position to call a special session earlier this week, I said we needed to keep up our fight in the courts. Immediately, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed emergency motions at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Alabama’s redistricting case. As I said following the emergency motions being filed, I remain hopeful Alabama will receive a favorable outcome from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is why I am now calling a special session of the Alabama Legislature.”
Ivey said she expected the session to last less than five days.
“By calling the Legislature into a special session, I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama’s previously drawn congressional and state senate maps to be used during this election cycle. If the court-ordered injunction is lifted, Alabama would revert to the maps drawn by the Legislature for congressional districts in 2023 and state senate districts in 2021,” Ivey said. “During this special session, I have called on the Legislature to address legislation to provide for a special primary election for electing members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Alabama State Senate in districts whose boundary lines are altered by court action. I expect the Legislature to address this call in fast order and be completed within five days. As I continue saying, Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best.”
House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) and Senate President Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) issued a joint statement applauding Ivey's call for a special session.
“After extensive dialogue and careful planning among Alabama’s legislative leadership and Governor Ivey, we are grateful for the opportunity to convene in a special session to address the issue of redistricting," Ledbetter and Gudger stated. "Governor Ivey is right: while SCOTUS delivered a landmark victory for conservatives, Alabama’s situation is unlike many other states, as we are under a court order preventing the State Legislature from redrawing congressional maps until 2030. With that said, we can and will set a contingency plan in place for our state’s primary elections should the U.S. Supreme Court remand Alabama’s current case to a lower court with clear instructions to apply the Callais ruling. While there are no guarantees that Alabama’s now unlawful, court mandated roadblock will be removed in time, we have a responsibility to give our state a fighting chance to send seven republican members to Congress. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives could come down to just a handful of seats, and when the dust settles, the people of Alabama will know that their Legislature stood firm, acted decisively, and did everything within its power to fight for fair representation.”
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