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Federal Court Denies Motions to Lift Alabama Congressional Map Injuctions, Sending Issue Back to Supreme Court
The measures let Gov. Kay Ivey order new elections in affected districts if courts lift injunctions, while the May 19 primary stays on schedule.
On Friday, Governor Kay Ivey signed two bills authorizing special elections for congressional and state senate districts, ensuring Alabama remains prepared should federal courts lift existing injunctions.
Republican legislators pushed bills to align voting districts with maps drawn in 2021 and 2023 after the Supreme Court ruling in the Louisiana redistricting case weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Critics, including the Southern Poverty Law Center and American Civil Liberties Union, condemned the legislation as an attempt to weaken Black voting power, with Democratic state Sen. Rodger Smitherman calling it a setback reminiscent of the Reconstruction era.
State officials are petitioning the Supreme Court to lift injunctions that would allow Governor Kay Ivey to trigger special elections, while the May 19th primary election proceeds as scheduled.
Ongoing legal challenges center on the Voting Rights Act, nearly 61 years old, as opponents maintain the legislation deliberately disenfranchises voters and threatens to erode decades of civil rights progress.