Alabama Lawmakers Vote on Changing Congressional Primaries if Courts Allow New Map

Alabama lawmakers are scheduled to vote Friday on legislation that would alter the state's congressional primaries if courts allow officials to implement new U.S. House district maps ahead of the November midterm elections. The legislation, which requires only a final Senate vote before going to the governor, would direct the governor to schedule new primaries for some congressional seats and ignore the existing May 19 primary date.

It applies only if courts lift an order requiring a second district where Black voters make up a majority or close to it. Officials have asked federal judges to allow use of a map drawn in 2023 that was previously rejected by a federal court. Under that map, Black residents would make up about 39 percent of the voting-age population in the district, down from the current 48 percent.

The district elected Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in 2024. The measure seeks to take advantage of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Louisiana case that significantly weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minorities. Republicans in several Southern states have moved quickly to pursue new maps following the decision.

Tennessee enacted new congressional districts on Thursday that split a Democratic-held Black-majority district in Memphis. Louisiana postponed its U.S. House primaries while lawmakers work on new districts. Republicans in the South Carolina House proposed a new map that would improve their chances of winning the state's only Democratic-held seat.

The South Carolina proposal would remove Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn from the 6th District he has held since 1992. It would split the district, which is nearly 50 percent Black and voted more than 60 percent for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024, into four separate districts.

The plan would also divide the Democratic stronghold of Columbia and its suburbs. The South Carolina House approved a resolution on Wednesday allowing lawmakers to return after the May 14 end of the regular session to consider redistricting. The Senate delayed action on the resolution Thursday as members sought more details on the proposed map.

Even before the Supreme Court ruling, Republicans and Democrats had been engaged in redistricting efforts across the country to gain an edge in the midterm elections that will determine control of the closely divided House. Since President Donald Trump encouraged Texas to redraw its districts last summer, nine states have adopted new House maps.

Republicans estimate they could gain as many as 14 seats from the changes while Democrats estimate they could gain up to 10. Officials in both parties have noted that the redistricting efforts could backfire in some competitive districts. A Senate committee advanced it to the full chamber on Thursday.

Addressing the Senate committee, Shomari Figures said his concern is not for himself but for voters who fought for decades to have representation. ' And I told him, 'No, Shomari Figures is going to be OK. Your voice is on the line,'" Figures said. Some Democrats noted the state's history of segregation and said districts created under the Voting Rights Act had enabled Black representation after centuries of disenfranchisement.