Alabama governor prepares new election dates if court allows congressional map to take effect

Alabama GOP Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation Friday that gives her the authority to set up new special primary election dates if courts allow a new Congressional map to take effect ahead of the midterms.The state’s primaries are currently scheduled to take place under its current maps on May 19, but the new legislation allows Ivey to set special election dates for districts impacted by the new map. 
The legislation comes after Alabama’s state legislature held a special session this week to redraw its House maps in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling striking down race-based districts.
“With this special session successfully behind us, Alabama now stands ready to quickly act, should the courts issue favorable rulings in our ongoing redistricting cases,” Ivey said in a statement. “I thank the legislature for answering my call to address the issue in fast order … Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best.”
The order comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month that a black majority district in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to bar race-based districts.
The Alabama move follows redraws by Florida and Texas and comes as Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee move to respond to the recent Supreme Court ruling.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage. 

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