Governor Ivey Signs Bills To Redistrict If Court Approves

Gov. Kay Ivey has officially signed both bills passed by the Alabama House and Senate today, enabling the state to redraw congressional districts, pending federal court approval.

Republican lawmakers mostly remained silent today as Democrats blasted the redistricting effort, calling it "blatant racism" and "black voter disenfranchisement. Despite rowdy reactions from the visitors' gallery, the legislation was easily approved by both chambers along party lines.

Ivey called the legislature into special session after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Louisiana cast that race cannot be used as a determining factor in redistricting. She reacted in a written press release this afternoon after a briefing signing ceremony in her office.

“With this special session successfully behind us, Alabama now stands ready to quickly act, should the courts issue favorable rulings in our ongoing redistricting cases. I thank the Legislature for answering my call to address the issue in fast order. I am grateful to Speaker Ledbetter and Pro Tem Gudger for their strong leadership and focus this week. Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best," Ivey was quoted as saying.

The May 19th party primary elections will still occur as planned. If the injunctions are lifted, the governor can call a special election for certain state senate and congressional districts whose boundary lines changed as a result of reverting back to the 2021 and 2023 maps.

Two of those congressional districts that may be redrawn are the majority-minority South Alabama 2nd district represented by Democrat Shomari Figures and the West Alabama 7th district seat held by longtime Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell.

Sewell posted her disgust on social media: “This is a dark day for the State of Alabama. The Foot Soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement fought, bled, and died to overturn Jim Crow in the South and secure Black representation in government. Today, Republicans in the Alabama State House passed legislation to erase their legacy and suppress the voices of Black Alabamians.

“To be clear, the State of Alabama remains under a federal court injunction which prevents the state from redistricting until 2030. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on lifting the injunction. However, Alabama Republicans’ rush to suppress Black representation while the injunction remains demonstrates the dire need for federal protections for minority voters.

“We will not stand by quietly while Alabama Republicans try to erase the progress secured by the Civil Rights Movement and take our state back to the era of Jim Crow. The people of Alabama must stand up, speak out, and get out to the polls.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama each post messages condemning the legislature's actions with SPLC Alabama policy director Jerome Dees writing, "“The actions of the Alabama Legislature demonstrated exactly why the Voting Rights Act is as necessary today as it was when it was signed into law nearly 61 years ago."

Senate Bill 1 sponsor Sen. Chris Elliott defending Republican actions, “This successful special session injected a strong dose of common sense back into Alabama’s legislative elections, and playing a major part is one of my proudest accomplishments.

“The bill that I sponsored during the special session this week allows Alabama to hold elections under the constitutional maps that were passed by the Legislature in 2021 and improperly overturned by the courts.

“The Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision opens the door to right a judicial wrong and allow us to use district maps that were drawn by Alabamians, not by federal judges, and we were wise to go into session and use that opportunity.”

President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger stated: “The successful special session held this week put Alabama firmly on the path toward reclaiming our congressional and legislative elections with maps that were drafted, drawn and approved by Alabamians, not by the federal courts.

“Our senators deserve recognition for working through tornado warnings, a fire alarm, and State House flooding in order to embrace the Louisiana v. Callais decision and do our part to help President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and the Republican Party maintain control of Congress for the next several years."

Voting rights activists are vowing that today's legislative action will serve as a spark to renew the civil rights movement in Alabama.