Alabama will split U.S. House primaries, after the Supreme Court's voting ruling

"Alabama's elections just got more complicated. The state is moving ahead with a special primary election for four of its seven congressional districts, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Alabama to use a map that had been blocked by the courts. The move increases the chances of Republicans picking up an extra U.S. House seat. The Supreme Court's conservative majority vacated a lower court decision that had blocked a 2023 congressional map proposal and required the state to include a second largely Black district."

"Following that Louisiana decision, Alabama's Republican leaders sought to revert to the 2023 map proposal that would leave one largely Black, Democratic-held congressional district. "I will continue to say: Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best," Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, said in a statement Tuesday announcing the special election. "The United States Supreme Court's decision is plain common sense and enables our values to be best represented in Congress.""

"Ivey scheduled the special election because Alabama's regular primary is next Tuesday, May 19, with absentee voting already under way. She set an Aug. 11 special election for the congressional districts affected by the reversion to the 2023 map: the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th. "Alabamians now have another opportunity to send strong voices to Washington to fight for our values, and I encourage them to get out and vote in this special primary election on August 11," Ivey said. "I also urge them to head to the polls this coming Tuesday, May 19 to vote in all other races.""

Alabama is proceeding with a special primary election for four of its seven congressional districts. The change follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for Alabama to use a congressional map that lower courts had blocked. The decision increases the likelihood that Republicans could gain an additional U.S. House seat. The Supreme Court vacated a ruling that had required Alabama to include a second largely Black district. The order came after a recent Supreme Court ruling in a Louisiana redistricting case that weakened the Voting Rights Act. Alabama’s Republican leaders sought to revert to a 2023 map that would keep one largely Black, Democratic-held district. Governor Kay Ivey scheduled the special election for August 11 for the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th districts.

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