As RedState reported, since the United States Supreme Court's Callais v. Louisiana decision has rendered racial gerrymander all but dead, Louisiana has made moves to redraw its congressional maps and suspended its May 16 primary for U.S. House of Representative elections; Florida's legislature quickly approved its new congressional maps, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed off on their use with great alacrity, ahead of their August 18 primary.
On Friday, Alabama entered the fray. As RedState reported, Alabama has its own dealings before SCOTUS, which in 2023 upheld a lower court ruling requiring the state to draw a second Black congressional district in 2024. While Alabama's appeal is being heard, they are prevented from drawing any new Congressional maps until 2030.
So, even with the Callais decision, and despite social media influencer campaigns, Gov. Kay Ivey deferred to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall for next steps rather than jumping on the bandwagon and immediately calling for a special session.
Gov. Kay Ivey declines to call special session for redistricting in light of Alabama’s appeal to SCOTUS on its map. #ALPolitics
— Alex Angle (@alexangle_) April 29, 2026
“While we are not in position to have a special session at this time, I hope in light of this new decision, the court is favorable to Alabama.” pic.twitter.com/CL7pGQUnKE
Dive Deeper: Watch: Dems Lose Their Minds When Florida Legislature Delivers Big GOP Win on Congressional Maps
New: Louisiana Suspends Its May 16 Primary to Redraw Maps in the Wake of SCOTUS Decision
State AG Marshall took the bull by the horns, filing emergency motions on Thursday, asking SCOTUS, in light of the Callais ruling, to expedite Alabama's cases before the court, as well as vacate the injunctions and lower court judgments.
We have filed emergency motions asking the U.S. Supreme Court to expedite the cases, vacate the injunctions and lower court judgments, and remand for proceedings consistent with the Callais decision.
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) April 30, 2026
Read More 🔗: https://t.co/MH43EwHLYJ pic.twitter.com/LYfUTAr0Jn
This apparently moved the needle. On Friday, Ivey called the legislature to prepare for a special session on Monday, May 4.
Regarding our own pending redistricting litigation, I remain hopeful Alabama will receive a favorable outcome from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is why I am now calling a special session of the Alabama Legislature. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/yQY6qdQjSq
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) May 1, 2026
Ivey's proclamation reads thusly:
WHEREAS an extraordinary occasion exists in the State of Alabama which requires the Legislature to convene in special session, see Ala. Const. art. V, § 122;
NOW THEREFORE, I, Kay Ivey, as Governor of the State of Alabama, do hereby proclaim and direct that the Legislature of the State of Alabama shall convene in special session in the Alabama State House, in Montgomery, Alabama, at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 4th, 2026, to take up the following specifically described subject or matter:
Primary elections. The Legislature may consider legislation to provide for a special primary election for electing members of the United States House of Representatives and the Alabama State Senate in districts whose boundary lines are alterned by a court issuing judgment, vacating an injunction, or otherwise ordering or permitting an altercation in the boundaries of such districts.
All other legislation, beyond the legislation specifically described above, is expressly excluded from this proclamation and shall require a two-thirds vote for consideration and passage during this special session. See Ala. Const. art. IV, § 76.
In WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand as Governor of the State of Alabama and caused this proclamation to be attested by the Secretary of State on this 1st day of May 2026.
Ivey also issued this statement, which reads in part:
Following the successful 2020 census, Alabama maintained our representation in Congress, and I called a special session to redraw our maps. Since then, we have been battling federal courts and activist groups who think they know Alabama better than Alabama.
Earlier this week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a positive decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case, which I said was encouraging for our own pending litigation. I also acknowledged that Alabama's redistricting battle is not over. The state remains under a court order prohibiting the use of new congressional maps untl after the 2030 census.
While we were not yet in position to call a special session earlier this week, I said we needed to keep up our fight in the courts. Immediately, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed emergency motions at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Alabama's redistricting case. As I said following the emergency motions being filed, I remain hopeful Alabama will receive a favorable outcome from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is why I am now calling a special session of the Alabama Legislature.
By calling the Legislature into a special session, I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama's previously drawn congressional and state senate maps to be used during this election cycle. If the court-ordered injunction is lifted, Alabama would revert to the maps drawn by the Legislature for congressional districts in 2023 and state senate districts in 2021.
Ivey added that she "expect[s] the Legislature to address this call in fast order and be completed within five days, and that "Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best."
Republican Speaker of the Alabama House, Nathaniel Ledbetter (AL-24), responded to the governor's proclamation, with a .Joint statement from himself and Senate President Pro Tem, Garlan Gudger Jr.:
Thank you, @GovernorKayIvey, for giving Alabama a fighting chance to send 7 Republicans to Congress. The House and Senate will convene 4 p.m. Monday for a special session.
— Nathaniel Ledbetter (@RepLedbetter) May 1, 2026
Joint statement from Senate President Pro Tem @GarlanGudgerJr and me below:
“After extensive dialogue and…
Thank you, @GovernorKayIvey, for giving Alabama a fighting chance to send 7 Republicans to Congress. The House and Senate will convene 4 p.m. Monday for a special session.
...
“After extensive dialogue and careful planning among Alabama’s legislative leadership and Governor Ivey, we are grateful for the opportunity to convene in a special session to address the issue of redistricting. Governor Ivey is right: while SCOTUS delivered a landmark victory for conservatives, Alabama’s situation is unlike many other states, as we are under a court order preventing the State Legislature from redrawing congressional maps until 2030. With that said, we can and will set a contingency plan in place for our state’s primary elections should the U.S. Supreme Court remand Alabama’s current case to a lower court with clear instructions to apply the Callais ruling. While there are no guarantees that Alabama’s now unlawful, court mandated roadblock will be removed in time, we have a responsibility to give our state a fighting chance to send seven republican members to Congress. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives could come down to just a handful of seats, and when the dust settles, the people of Alabama will know that their Legislature stood firm, acted decisively, and did everything within its power to fight for fair representation.”
Bigfoot lawyers from the NAACP, possibly at the behest of the two so-called Black congressional district representatives who are on the chopping block, have demanded that SCOTUS deny these fresh efforts.
On April 30, Alabama officials asked the Supreme Court to quickly review pending cases involving its congressional maps. They cited a recent Supreme Court decision, Louisiana v. Callais, that decided that state had drawn maps that disadvantaged white voters.
Alabama Republicans have tried to redraw maps since 2021, but are currently enjoined from doing so until at least 2030.
In a response filed May 1, NAACP lawyers said Alabama’s situation is different than Louisiana’s.
They also pointed to justices’ comments in the Callais case that they were specifically not overruling their 2023 decision about Alabama’s voting maps in Allen v. Milligan.
NAACP lawyers also claimed that any efforts to change Alabama’s maps so close to 2026 elections would be unworkable.
Another group that opposes Alabama’s request, the National Redistricting Foundation, said officials were “once again trying to move the goalposts to suit its own partisan interests.”
Pot, meet kettle, and by all accounts, the kettle is about to boil over. As my colleague Rusty Weiss further reported, the U.S. Department of Justice has affirmed to work to enforce Callais:
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon made that crystal clear Thursday when she responded to Senator Eric Schmitt's (R-MO) specific request on the matter with a straightforward "we are on it!”
Dhillon went on to stress that the DOJ under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is committed to equal protection for all Americans. Which shouldn't be a novel idea in today's world, but clearly is for our friends on the left.
Schmitt had pressed the department in a previous thread on X, urging officials to use their full authority to enforce the Supreme Court’s recent decision nationwide. He pointed out that the feds clearly have the power to step in and stop states from continuing these Democrat-led, race-based map-drawing schemes.
Read More: Trump DOJ Vows to Enforce SCOTUS Ban on Racial Gerrymandering Nationwide—Obama Hardest Hit
The Domino Effect: SCOTUS' Louisiana v. Callais Decision Unmoors Democrat Plans for Voting Takeover
As stated before, the Callais ruling has removed the cudgel from the hands of Democrats to use racial gerrymandering to weight the scales of elections. Should SCOTUS tips its hat in Alabama's favor and the Monday session goes well, the midterms will have become even more interesting.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member