Special Legislative Session: Alabama and the Voting Rights Act

Governor Kay Ivey called a special legislative session planned to start Monday, May 4th to reevaluate Alabama congressional maps in light of the Supreme Court Decision that guts the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court ruled this week that a congressional map for Louisiana was unconstitutional because it considered race while drawing the lines. As of 2023, Alabama had been ordered by the Supreme Court to use a congressional map that includes a new district. That new district has a large Black population.

However, with this new Supreme Court Ruling, Alabama might be able to go back to an older version of this map where this district doesn’t exist at all. Under the guise of Constitutional correctness, Gov. Kay Ivey called this session, but the impact of going back to the “old” map will be the erasure of the new district, dilution of Black voting power, and likely a new GOP seat.

So what next? With the potential redistricting, it’s more important than ever to vote—especially in Madison county where there are enough Democratic voices that we can flip seats. The last day to register to vote in the primaries is Monday, May 4th. Get yourself registered and get out to the polls on May 19th! Even more importantly, mark your calendar for Midterms on November 3rd!