Two more Republican-controlled states took steps Friday to redraw their congressional maps as party leaders try to capitalize on the Supreme Court’s decision this week to weaken the Voting Rights Act.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) both called special sessions aimed at picking up more Republican seats, part of a gerrymandering war unprecedented in modern times. That followed Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s announcement Thursday that he would suspend Louisiana’s May 16 U.S. House primaries so his state could redraw its map.
The actions could yield Republicans an advantage in three to five new seats — one in Tennessee and one or two each in Louisiana and Alabama. It comes in an otherwise unfavorable political environment for Republicans, with polls showing that President Donald Trump is increasingly unpopular.
“We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said in a statement announcing the session that would begin Tuesday.
But the path ahead in Alabama, which depends on emergency action from the Supreme Court, is far from certain. The state is under a court order to keep its current map until after the 2030 Census. Ivey is hoping the Supreme Court will negate that order now that it has ruled to limit a key portion of the Voting Rights Act.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) filed emergency motions Thursday asking the court to lift its injunctions that block the state from using a 2023 congressional map approved by the state legislature. That map gave Republicans an edge in six of its seven House seats. But the high court ruled at the time that it diluted the voting power of Black residents, who make up more than a quarter of the state’s population.
Although Ivey is preparing the legislature to act quickly in case the Supreme Court approves Alabama’s emergency motions, it’s not clear yet when the court will weigh in.
“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,” Ivey wrote as she called the legislature to convene on Monday.
Until this week’s Supreme Court ruling, the Voting Rights Act had compelled many states to preserve majority-minority districts, seats that were often held by Democrats.
The court’s new interpretation of the act has freed Republican-led states to eliminate many of those districts, putting the careers of many Black lawmakers in jeopardy either this year or in 2028. Republican leaders are up against tight timelines if they want to alter their maps in time for the 2026 midterm elections, as many states have already held primaries or begun voting in them.
Opponents in Louisiana, for example, have sued to block the delay and keep the current districts for this election cycle.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said Friday that he would wait until the 2028 election cycle. South Carolina Republicans appear divided on whether to call in the legislature for a special session to draw out Rep. James E. Clyburn — the Palmetto State’s sole Democrat in the House.
With just over a month before the state’s primaries, some Republicans say they favor redrawing the lines. But Republican legislative leaders told the State, a South Carolina-based newspaper, that redistricting this year is unlikely.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) said in a statement on Friday that “it would be appropriate for the General Assembly to ensure that South Carolina’s congressional map still complies with all requirements of federal law and the U.S. Constitution.”
Patrick Marley contributed to this report.
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