Ivey Extends Candidate Certification Deadline For Special Election
Alabama's loss in federal court over redictricting maps this week has thrown a wrench into the state's special election plans in congressional districts 1,2,6, and 7 set for August 11th. Although the state has requested the U.S. Supreme Court to expidite their decision on the state's challenge, officials are now concerned that an already compressed timeline could become more problematic the longer it takes for the high court to rule.
Justice Clarence Thomas responded to the state's appeal and requested that the plaintiffs in Allen v. Milligan respond by Monday at 4:00pm., six hours later than the deadline the state had requested.
Tomorrow had orginally been set as the date for Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen to certify the list of candidates on the ballot to county probate judges, Gov. Ivey has now extended that date to next Wednesday, June 3rd.
Qualifying for the four districts ended last Friday and the longer it takes the justices to rule, the more compressed the schedule. If the reappeal is granted and the 2023 map can be used, registered voters will have to be reassigned to proper districts.
Because of the June 16 primary runoff, the voter registration records will close after June 2nd, that leaves registrars unable to reassign voters until the records become unlocked again after runoff results are certified.That further cuts into the deadline to reassign voters
“I am hopeful the Supreme Court quickly gives Alabama a favorable response so we can move forward with the August 11 Special Primary Election using our 2023 congressional map,” Ivey said when she signed the extension order. “We remain in close contact with the Secretary of State’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office as the appeal process plays out and as our elections approach us.”
.At issue in the appeal is the district court’s view that the State defied a preliminary injunction regarding a since-repealed redistricting plan when it enacted an entirely new redistricting plan that, by the district court’s lights, was a “purposeful attempt to rob Black Alabamians of an equal opportunity under the law to elect candidates of their choice”
In the appeal the state voiced optomism that the high court's conservative majority will rule in Alabama's favor. However, the longer it takes, the more difficult it will be for Alabama to conduct the special election within the legal timeframe for November's Gneral Election.
If the Supreme Court forces the state to use the 2024 federal court drawn map it is thought that the leading voter getters in the May 19th primary could be declared the winner but the state has not clarified the process.
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