ONLY ON 8: Political Analyst Steve Flowers discusses special session to change Alabama’s Congressional districts
ONLY ON 8 (WAKA) – Action 8 Political Analyst Steve Flowers explains how the special session of the Alabama Legislature on redistricting could affect this year’s elections.
Alabama is one of several states that could change its districts before the November general election. This is happening because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week involving Louisiana. The court struck down a Black-majority Congressional district in that state on the grounds that race was too large of a factor in how it had been drawn up. Three years ago, the federal courts rejected Alabama’s Congressional district map that had been drawn up by the legislature following the 2020 Census. Instead, the courts created its own map in order to give Black Alabama voters a greater chance of electing a second Black U.S. Representative. In 2024, Black Democrat Shomari Figures of Mobile was elected to represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
Republicans in the Alabama Legislature are hoping to return to the original map that they had passed. If that happens, Figures would be vulnerable in his re-election bid. However, when the courts drew up the new map that led to Figures’ election, it barred the Alabama Legislature from making any changes before the 2030 Census. State Republican leaders are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow them to take action now and not wait until then.
“The decision that came down from the U.S. Supreme Court last week is monumental for Alabama and the other southern states,” Flowers said. “The Louisiana case that was decided by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision basically struck down the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It’s not a given that the Supreme Court will rule in Alabama’s favor, which has another case pending. I would say after the Louisiana case, it’s at least a 75% chance that the Supreme Court is indeed going to rule that the minority districts that were drawn by the Voting Rights Act were unconstitutional.”
Flowers says there’s nothing that Democrats in Alabama could do to stop this action, should the Supreme Court allow redistricting to take place now.
If the Supreme Court rules that Alabama can change its district lines, Flowers says there would be a special election held because the lines in the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts would be changed, which means some voters would find themselves in new districts. Those districts cover our part of the state.
When asked whether lawsuits will be filed if the U.S. Supreme Court votes in favor of Alabama Republicans who want to change the districts back to what they had been before the courts intervened, Flowers said once the high court rules, it’s all over for anyone upset about this possible action.
Watch the video above to see more of Flowers’ insight as he talks with Action 8’s Glenn Halbrooks.
