MONTGOMERY — Republican members of the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee passed a bill on Thursday that would allow the state to use congressional district maps if a federal court or the U.S. Supreme Court lifts an injunction on Alabama.
Governor Kay Ivey called a special session last week after a 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callias, in which 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 or a federal court lifts the injunction. The possible change would likely mean Alabama would send six Republicans to Congress instead of five. Under the change, U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) could lose the congressional seat he was elected to in 2024.
"This isn't about my seat. This is about what's right for the state of Alabama and there's no group of people in this nation, in this state that have paid a greater debt to building this state, of overcoming this state, of making this place thrive than black people," Figures told a Senate committee on Thursday. "To remove that opportunity, we're not talking about stacking the deck. A lot of people don't realize this about my district: my district is 47% black. It's not a majority black district, but at the end of the day, we work for everybody."
State Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-Birmingham) said the state was entering a "new Jim Crow" era because of the legislation proposed in the special session.
"You've got to know it when you see it. It's not the hoods. You've got to know it when you see it," Coleman-Madison said.
State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) told reporters on Thursday the legislation was needed because, "We wanted to be in a position to move if we need to, and that's what we're doing."
"I think the 2023 map, if you look at the arguments made in the Callais decision and the arguments the lower court made are really inconsistent with the Callais decision so I think there is a decent chance that the courts will rule in our favor," Elliott said.
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