Alabama’s primary elections are still scheduled for two weeks from Tuesday, even as the Legislature convenes to consider special elections.
Secretary of State Wes Allen announced Monday that the state will proceed with the May 19 primaries while Alabama awaits court action on its redistricting cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Voter registration has now closed and absentee voting is already underway.
“I encourage all eligible Alabamians to verify their voter registration status using AlabamaVotes.gov and make plans to head to the polls on May 19th,” Allen said in a statement.
Yet, after the Supreme Court gutted a key section of the Voting Rights Act last week, Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session to set contingency plans for special primary elections, pending court review. Legislation to do that is moving through the Alabama Legislature this week.
Alabama Republicans want to use the 2023 congressional map drawn by the Legislature, which could give the GOP an additional seat in Congress. But that will only be possible if the Supreme Court lifts an injunction on the state that bars it from using the 2023 map after finding it was racially discriminatory. Federal judges also ruled that the state can’t change its congressional map until the 2030 census.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Allen filed emergency motions last week to expedite the consideration of the redistricting cases. If the 2023 map is used, Alabama’s 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional districts would be impacted.
A comparison of the Congressional District Map Alabama lawmakers approved in 2023 (left), and the court-imposed map that’s currently in use (right).
In the race for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, the only open seat this year, former Rep. Jerry Carl of Mobile and State Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise are locked in a tight battle for the Republican nomination.
But if the state is allowed to use the 2023 map, it would split the 1st and 2nd districts up, with the Mobile area in the 1st and the Wiregrass region in the 2nd.
If that were to happen, Carl’s campaign told Alabama Daily News he would run in the 1st District, which he represented in Congress from 2021-2024. Marques’ campaign told ADN he was “laser-focused” on the impending primary.
“Alabama should be represented in Congress as the proudly conservative, red state that we are,” Marques said in a statement to ADN. “I stand ready to deliver the people of Alabama the completely Republican congressional delegation that they want — and that’s the only result I’ll support in the legislature.”
Republicans James “Jimmy” Dees, Joshua McKee, John Mills, James Richardson and Austin Sidwell are also running for the AL-1 seat. Clyde Jones Jr. is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures’ seat, a result of court litigation that led to a second majority-minority district in the state, could be in danger if the state is allowed to use the 2023 map. Figures is unopposed in the Democratic primary. Hampton Harris is running in the Republican primary.
Figures, who lives in Mobile, could have to consider whether to run in the 1st District. Figures’ campaign did not respond to ADN’s request for comment on his purported plans if the 2023 map is allowed.
“Three judges (two appointed by Trump and one by Reagan) found that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black people in drawing its congressional map. That decision still stands,” Figures posted on social media Monday. “The fight for fair representation continues!”
If the 2023 map is used this year, Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell’s 7th Congressional District would also be slightly changed. But the Birmingham and west Alabama district would still be a Democratic stronghold, so Sewell would likely hold onto her seat. She is running unopposed.
The 6th District would see the smallest impact among the four districts, but the changes could still trigger a special election should the court allow the 2023 map.
State Senate map
The Alabama Legislature will also address two Montgomery-area state Senate districts. A federal court ruling late last year ordered the state to use a new map for the 2026 elections, impacting Senate District 25, currently held by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, and Senate District 26, held by Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery.
The district judge ruled that Alabama’s 2021 state Senate map violated the Voting Rights Act by illegally diluting the influence of Black voters around the capital city.
On Monday, Marshall and Allen filed an emergency motion with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the court’s injunctions blocking the state from using its 2021 state Senate map.
Marshall said “time is of the essence” to resolve the state redistricting case, requesting a decision by May 8.
“The South has changed, and the courts have acknowledged as much,” Marshall said in a statement. “We cannot be held indefinitely to a framework rooted in 1965. With the Callais decision now in place, we are confident our race-neutral districts can serve as the foundation for all future redistricting.”
Democrats and voting rights groups protested the special session Monday. They held a rally outside the State House to oppose the redistricting efforts.
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