Alabama is latest state to try to halt its election to pass new gerrymander

Alabama may suspend its May 19 congressional primary elections to pass a new gerrymandered map in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gutting the Voting Rights Act (VRA) — even though absentee mail ballots have already been sent to voters and some ballots have already been cast. 

It would follow Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s (R) unprecedented decision Thursday to halt his state’s May 16 congressional primary in order to gerrymander the map, a move that has already drawn legal challenges. Mail voting in that election is also already underway.

On Thursday, Alabama asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to expedite a case* brought by Black voters challenging the state’s congressional map under Section 2 of the VRA. Alabama also asked SCOTUS to vacate an order requiring it to draw a map with two majority Black electoral districts.

Black voters challenging the Alabama maps quickly filed responses Friday morning asking the court to deny Alabama’s motion, arguing some absentee votes had already been cast in the May 19 primary. They are asking SCOTUS to either resolve the lawsuit through its normal review process or to order the parties to fully brief and argue the merits of the case. 

The Black voters also referenced the Supreme Court majority’s findings just a few months earlier in Texas’ redistricting case, when the majority wrote that the Texas district court had “improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion.” In that case, no mail ballots had even been sent out at the time.

Alabama has already entered into an agreement to use its current map until 2030 — but the state has repeatedly ignored court orders demanding it implement legally compliant maps in the past. 

While Alabama’s leadership has not openly declared its intention to ram through a gerrymander, Black voters have reason to worry.

On Thursday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) praised state officials for requesting that SCOTUS expedite the case, possibly signaling that she would support an eleventh-hour rush to redraw maps for this year’s midterms. 

Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth (R), who leads the state Senate, indicated his support for a map that could eliminate both congressional seats currently held by Democrats.  

“Alabama Republicans control both U.S. Senate seats, all constitutional offices, every state judgeship, and have legislative supermajorities, so it makes perfect sense for us to hold every congressional seat, too,” Ainsworth said in a social media post.

SCOTUS’ ruling Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais effectively scrapped Section 2 of the VRA, making it far more difficult for pro-voting plaintiffs to prove in court that an electoral map dilutes the voting strength of minority voters. 

The ruling will have catastrophic implications across the South for minority voting power in future elections. But it appears states like Louisiana and Alabama want maps to reflect those changes immediately for the current 2026 cycle, even though those elections have already begun. 

The Callais decision only directly impacted Louisiana’s map, but the pending litigation Alabama asked SCOTUS to expedite challenges the state map on similar grounds. 

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) is representing the Caster Respondents in the case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.