Alabama moves ahead with court-drawn map as SCOTUS reviews challenge
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Alabama is set to move forward with a court-drawn congressional map for its special primary elections on Aug. 11 as it awaits a key decision from the nation's highest court.
Why it matters: Alabama's primary elections have been upended by a flurry of court actions following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, and now the state appears to be back where it started.
The latest: Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday amended her order calling for a special primary election to return the state to a court-drawn map that was in place before the Callais ruling, according to her office.
- The change still only applies to districts 1, 2, 6 and 7.
- Ivey's order set a 5pm June 2 deadline for both parties to certify their candidates.
Yes, but: Ivey's proclamation leaves the door open in case the Supreme Court acts again to allow Alabama to use its legislature-drawn 2023 maps.
Catch up quick: Ivey cites the May 26 order from a three-judge panel prohibiting the state from using its 2023 Legislature-drawn maps and upholding the earlier ruling that they were racially discriminatory.
- Those judges took up the issue after Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed three emergency motions following the Callais decision.
- One request asked SCOTUS to return the map question to the lower court for reevaluation in light of that decision, which they did.
- The lower court again blocked the map. The state is now petitioning SCOTUS to stay that decision.
The other side: Ivey's order also comes after plaintiffs in one of the map challenge cases asked SCOTUS to deny the state's application for a stay, saying the timeline is too tight.
- That's partly because of Alabama's observation of Jefferson Davis's birthday as a state holiday June 1, leaving too little time ahead of absentee voting for the June 16 runoff, which started June 2.
- Per the filing, that date marks when voter registration records are "locked."