First votes were expected Tuesday (May 5) on bills to allow Alabama to hold special primary elections this year in some congressional and State Senate districts if the state is allowed to revert to previous maps drawn by Republicans.
The Alabama Legislature convened on Monday for a special session to set primary dates to be used should the courts approve the state’s expedited request to allow the originally-passed congressional map from 2023 and the State Senate map from 2021 to go back into effect.
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The congressional plan is starting in the House, with House Bill 1 from Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle, R-Mobile. It sets up a contingency plan for congressional elections to be used if the court acts. Should the court allow Alabama to revert to its original 2023 map, only the 1st, 2nd and 7th congressional districts would be impacted. The 2023 map would likely mean six Republicans and one Democrat representing Alabama in the U.S. House.
Pringle’s bill would allow the governor to invalidate the results of the May 19 primary for those districts. Ivey could then call a special replacement primary to decide each party’s nominees for the November general election. Those races would be decided by plurality, meaning there would be no runoffs and the candidate with the most votes would earn the nomination.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Claire Harrison and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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