Alabama takes step toward a new congressional map while awaiting court action

Key Points:

• Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation allowing new primary elections if courts permit Republicans to redraw congressional and state Senate maps before the November midterms, despite primaries being scheduled for May 19 under current maps.
• The move follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the use of race in redistricting, prompting Alabama Republicans to seek court approval to replace the current map with one favoring Republicans by reducing majority-minority districts.
• The current map, ordered by a federal court in 2023, includes two majority-Black or Black opportunity districts represented by Democrats, but Republicans aim to flip these districts ahead of the fall elections.
• Similar efforts are underway in other southern states, including Tennessee, Louisiana, and South Carolina, where Republicans are redrawing maps or delaying primaries to gain electoral advantages.
• Alabama Democratic leaders criticize the legislation as undermining democracy, emphasizing the racial and political implications of the redistricting efforts.