Politics
JUST IN: Third Red State Signals Redistricting Plans Following Bombshell SCOTUS Ruling
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting expedited review of the state’s ongoing congressional redistricting litigation. The filing occurred one day after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which determined that Louisiana’s congressional map constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander due to the creation of a second majority-black district.
“As the appellant in Alabama’s redistricting case, I have taken the legal measures necessary, in cooperation with Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall to ask the US Supreme Court to take quick and decisive action which will allow Alabama to pursue congressional maps that reflect the will of the people,” Allen wrote.
“It is my hope that our right as Alabamians to draw districts will be swiftly restored and that the days of court appointed mapmakers will be behind us.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall filed accompanying emergency motions asking the Supreme Court to lift existing injunctions that prevent Alabama from using its 2023 congressional map. The motions seek to allow the state to proceed with maps drawn by the legislature rather than those imposed through prior court proceedings.
Governor Kay Ivey issued a statement supporting the actions. “I applaud Attorney General Steve Marshall and Secretary of State Wes Allen for quickly filing emergency motions at the Supreme Court regarding Alabama’s redistricting case. As I have said time and again, Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups. I remain hopeful that Alabama receives a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court,” she said.
Press Release: Secretary of State Wes Allen Files Motion with US Supreme Court on Alabama Redistricting
Read more here: https://t.co/MQXQ1r290T#alpolitics pic.twitter.com/Zh7rhKYoTy
— Wes Allen Alabama Secretary of State (@alasecofstate) April 30, 2026
Thursday’s developments follow the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Allen v. Milligan, which held that Alabama’s 2021 congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of black residents. That ruling required the creation of a second district in which Black voters would have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
A subsequent 2023 map enacted by the Alabama Legislature was later enjoined by a federal district court for failing to fully remedy the violation. A court-appointed special master’s plan was used for the 2024 elections, and an injunction currently prohibits the use of new congressional districts until after the 2030 census.
Governor Ivey had previously refused to call a special session for redistricting and instead asked the high court for additional guidance on the law.
In the wake of the Louisiana v. Callais decision, Ivey reiterated this position regarding congressional maps. She stated that Alabama is “not in position to have a special session at this time” but expressed hope that the new precedent would lead to a favorable outcome for the state in its pending Supreme Court matter.
Louisiana and Tennessee have also taken steps to address their congressional maps in response to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling narrowing the application of the Voting Rights Act in redistricting. Louisiana, whose map was directly invalidated as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, is required to redraw its congressional districts following an appellate court ruling handed down on Thursday.
Tennessee officials, including gubernatorial candidates and members of Congress, have called for the legislature to redraw the state’s map to eliminate its single majority-minority district centered in Memphis, with Governor Bill Lee indicating that he would work to address what he described as an unconstitutional flaw in the current plan.
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