The governors of Alabama and Tennessee have called a special session for lawmakers to redraw congressional maps.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) said in a statement last week, “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.”
Similarly, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee, also a Republican, said, “We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters. After consultation with the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, I believe the General Assembly has a responsibility to review the map and ensure it remains fair, legal, and defensible.”
The moves follow the Supreme Court decision that struck down a Louisiana congressional map adding a majority-Black congressional district. The ruling limits the extent of the Voting Rights Act for how states may draw districts affecting minority voters.
After the decision, President Trump called upon Governor Lee to redraw the state’s congressional maps, a move that could eliminate the state’s only Democratic House seat. “I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning, wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee,” Trump wrote. “This should give us one extra seat, and help Save our Country from the Radical Left Democrats, and their Country destroying Policies of High Tax, Open Borders, Transgender Mutilization, Defunding the Police, ICE, and Border Patrol, No Voter ID, Soft on Crime, and so much more. Thank you Governor Lee — PUSH HARD!”
