Alabama Republicans signed legislation on May 9, 2026 authorizing the governor to call new primary elections if courts lift the injunction protecting the current congressional map — the map that produced Rep. Shomari Figures's 2024 victory after a federal court rejected the GOP's 2023 version as non-compliant with the Voting Rights Act.
The move came days after the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's majority-Black district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander — a ruling Alabama is now citing to ask the Court for emergency relief clearing the way for the 2023 map. Tennessee approved a similar redraw on May 8, carving up that state's only majority-Black district.
The Founders placed the rules of representation at the republic's foundation for a reason: legitimacy flows from the governed, not from whoever draws the lines last. When the map changes mid-decade to serve a party rather than the people, the constitutional order bends toward the boardroom, not the ballot box.