Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday called for special primary elections for a handful of House districts in Alabama, essentially voiding the contests for those seats scheduled for next week.
The Yellowhammer State is hosting primary elections next Tuesday, including for an open Senate seat. But after the Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama to use a Republican-drawn 2023 House map, Ivey declared that the state would hold special primary elections for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts on Aug. 11. The boundaries of all four seats are set to change by reverting to the earlier version of the congressional map.
The special primary elections won’t have runoff elections, according to Ivey.
“Alabamians now have another opportunity to send strong voices to Washington to fight for our values, and I encourage them to get out and vote in this special primary election on August 11,” the governor said in a statement. “I also urge them to head to the polls this coming Tuesday, May 19 to vote in all other races.”
Ivey’s announcement comes as Republican-led states across the South seek to revise their congressional maps following last month’s Supreme Court ruling that limited the use of race in drawing House districts. An unexplained and unsigned order from the high court Monday set aside a lower court ruling that found Alabama’s congressional map had illegally discriminated against Black voters. The Alabama legislature approved legislation last week to allow for special elections if the Supreme Court lifted the injunction on the state using the 2023 map.
