Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Calls Special Session to Redraw Congressional Map After Supreme Court Ruling

MONTGOMERY — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced on May 1, 2026, that she is calling a special legislative session beginning May 12 to redraw the state’s congressional map in direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision limiting race-based redistricting.

The move makes Alabama one of the first Southern states to act aggressively on congressional boundaries following the Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down a Louisiana map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The decision held that the Voting Rights Act does not require states to create additional majority-minority districts when race predominates over traditional redistricting criteria such as compactness and contiguity.

Alabama currently has seven congressional districts, with Republicans holding six and Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell holding the state’s lone majority-Black district. Under the previous court-ordered map, Republicans argued that race was improperly used as the predominant factor in drawing lines. The new special session will allow the Republican-controlled Legislature to enact a map that complies with the Supreme Court’s guidance and better reflects the state’s strong Republican voter majority.

Ivey stated the session will focus exclusively on congressional redistricting to ensure Alabama’s maps align with the high court’s ruling before the 2026 election cycle begins. Republicans believe the redraw could realistically produce a 7-0 GOP delegation by eliminating the second majority-Black district that had been mandated by lower courts.

The Alabama effort is widely viewed as the opening salvo in a broader wave of Republican-led redistricting across the South and Sun Belt. States such as Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and potentially North Carolina are now expected to review and possibly adjust their maps under the new legal framework established by the Supreme Court. Combined with recent map changes already approved in Florida and Texas, these actions could deliver Republicans a substantial net gain in the U.S. House, further solidifying their majority through the end of the decade.

Democrats and voting rights groups have condemned the Alabama special session as an attempt to dilute Black voting power. They argue the Supreme Court decision weakens long-standing protections for minority voters in the South.

The special session gives the Republican supermajority in the Alabama Legislature a narrow window to pass new boundaries before candidate filing deadlines. Gov. Ivey has indicated she will sign whatever compliant map the Legislature produces.

This rapid response in Alabama underscores the significant shift in redistricting strategy enabled by the Supreme Court’s ruling and signals that multiple Republican-led states are now prepared to move quickly to maximize their congressional advantages for the 2026 midterms.