Redistricting Passes Legislature on Party Line Votes

The Alabama House passed the bill approving redistricting for Alabama along a 75-29 party line vote at midday. A little over two hours later after five hours of debate the Alabama Senate followed suit on another party line vote, 27-8. The measures now go to Governor Ivey for her signature.

The expensive, weeklong special session was highlighted by growing anger from Democrats and activists opposed to the plan to return Alabama to an earlier district map that has been ruled as gerrymandered and unconstitutional.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen and Attorney General Steve Marshal entered an emergency appeal to the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta asking them to expedite a decision on whether or not the state can legally discard a federal court drawn map and revert to the previous map prior to the next census in 2030.

“It does not create anything new,” South Alabama GOP Sen. Greg Albritton told the Senate during debate. “It simply takes matters that have already been established, litigated, and dealt with and passed and simplifies a pathway in which to institute those things that have already been done.”

Should the court allow the 2023 map to be used, the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional district lines would change, triggering special elections for those four districts. Observers believe West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell's will be reconfigured but that she should retain her seat in congress.

The 2nd Congressional District Seat of 1st term Congressman Shomari Figures is the district that is most vulnerable to a reconfiguration that will see Figures as the odd man out.

During debate inside the statehouse, Black lawmakers sharply criticized Republican legislation that would ignore the May 19 primary for some congressional seats and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under revised districts, if the court allows it.

Should the federal court deny the emergency request or just not answer it the bills passed today will become moot.

The special session opened old racial wounds and sparked emotional debate from Democrats, some saying the Republican plan is "blatant racism" which has reignited the civil rights movement.

In the senate, Greensboro Democrat Bobby Signleton, who is also the senate minority leader, demanded a long roll-call voice vote so, "the people of Alabama can see who vote which way." It passed 27-8.

In the house, the 75-29 vote was done electronically.

The governor is expected to sign the enabling law after which the response of the federal court will be the last chapter in the saga that began when the U.S. Supreme Court, in a Louisiana case, ruled race cannot be used as the deciding factor in drawing district maps.