The Alabama Legislature is back in Session

May 4, 2026 – MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Legislature has opened the first special session of 2026 to consider a contingency to redistrict Congress in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana versus Callais decision that ruled that gerrymandering along racial lines is unconstitutional.

Monday's legislative session was purely procedural as the first day of a session is reserved by the Alabama Constitution for resolutions and the introduction of bills. House Bill 1 (HB1) was introduced by State Representative Chris Pringle (R-Mobile). The legislation is being carried in the Senate by Senator Chris Elliott (R-Josephine).

Hundreds of Democrats protested outside the Statehouse. Groups represented include Black Lives Matter, NAACP, the Poor People's Campaign, the National Council of Negro Women, etc.

Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) warned that she believed that some version of the Republican plan, "Will ultimately pass."

Alabama currently is represented in Congress by five Republicans and two Democrats (Representatives Terri Sewell (D-Selma) and Shomari Figures (D-Mobile).

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R) has called on the Legislature to redistrict the state's seven Congressional Districts so that seven Republicans will be elected in November.

In the 2022 election, Republican Governor Kay Ivey received 66.2% of the vote, while Democratic nominee Yolanda Flowers received 29.2% of the vote. In the 2024 presidential election, Republican nominee Donald J. Trump received 64.6% of the vote to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris's 34.1%. That 64 to 66% Republican leaning voting results makes Alabama one of the most GOP friendly states in the country.

Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) explained that the bill introduced would return Alabama to the 2023 map prepared by the Legislature in a special session then, but rejected by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

That map would make the Second Congressional District (currently held by Figures) Republican leaning. The 2023 map replaced the 2020 map which had previously been rejected by the federal court. Notably reverting to the 2023 map would leave Sewell's CD7 in place.

Ledbetter said that the leadership chose to revert to the 2023 map because going to a seven Republicans map would result in a lengthy court battle.

"It has already done the due diligence," said Ledbetter. "Any other plan would mean 12 to 36 months in court."

Ledbetter said that the Legislature is not going to move the primary.

"The May 19 primary is going to go forward," said Ledbetter.

This means that Sewell will be unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election in CD7. In CD2 Figures will be unopposed in the Democratic primary, but will face Republican attorney and real estate broker Hampton Harris (the only Republican to qualify) in the General election.

Ledbetter said that this was being done for political purposes and not to disenfranchise Black voters. "

"Not all the democrats are Black voters," said Ledbetter.

Ledbetter said that it is his view that the second congressional district was racially gerrymandered by the court ordered special master.

"It is not supposed to be racially gerrymandered but it was," said Ledbetter.

The Republicans have a commanding supermajority in both Houses of the Alabama Legislature so can redistrict without a single Democratic vote.

"My thinking is the people voted to have the supermajority the way it is," said Ledbetter.

On the court decisions that threw out Alabama's 2020 and 2023 Congressional redistricting maps.

"We had three judges determining how five million people vote," said Ledbetter. "I didn't think that was right and ultimately by the Louisiana decision the Supreme Court didn't either."

Rep. Givan said that the state of Alabama is trying to prevent, "People that look like me and people of marginalized communities" from being able to pick their own representation.

Givan predicted that instead of two Black Congress members that the new Representative, "Will probably be Anglo-Saxon."

"We are in a fight for our lives," said Givan. "We are not going back."

The Louisiana decision was released just last week.

"Alabama is the first out of t he chute to do this," said Givan. "We support the Congresspersons (Sewell and Figures) that represent the people of the state of Alabama."

"We are not going away and we are not going back," said Givan. "I have to do justice to the people of Birmingham."

On Monday Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) and Secretary of State Wes Allen (R) filed motions before the U.S. Supreme Court asking that the court lift and injunction preventing the state from redistricting the Alabama Senate. The same special master who created the existing congressional map also redrew two state Senate districts in Montgomery and Elmore Counties from one majority Black Democrat district represented by Senator Kirk Hatcher (D-Montgomery) and one majority White Republican district represented by Senator Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) to two swing districts almost evenly divided racially.

Ledbetter said that the Legislature will not act to change those Senate districts and will not address that issue.

Givan told the Alabama Gazette that she believes that the legislation will change in the process to move from a 6-1 Republican to a 7 to 0 split.

Former Tuberville advisor and former Trump administration official Morgan Murphy (R-Mountain Brook)– who has publicly stated his intention to run for Congress in CD7 was also optimistic hope that the Legislature will change this bill to redistrict all seven Congressional Districts.

Murphy explained that Speaker Ledbetter and Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) are being pressured by Tuberville and the Trump Whitehouse to pass a seven-district plan.

The legislation can be substituted at any point before final passage.

The Legislature cannot actually redistrict the congressional districts at this time, because the Eleventh Circuit has an injunction in place keeping that state from redistricting before the 2030 Census. Marshall and Allen as asking the Supreme Court to lift that injunction and invalidate that lower court ruling that imposed the current 5 to 2 Congressional map.

The Alabama Gazette did reach out to the Alabama House Democratic Caucus for comment, but they did not return our call. Givan was the lone House Democrat to address the media following the close of the Monday legislative session.

The House will return on Tuesday at 9:00 A.M.

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