Republican governors in Alabama and Tennessee have summoned lawmakers into emergency sessions this week to redraw congressional districts after the Supreme Court gutted key Voting Rights Act protections, potentially shifting up to 20 House seats nationwide.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called legislators back to Montgomery starting Monday to approve new maps that Republican leaders say would "give our state a fighting chance to send seven Republican members to Congress." The state's current seven-member delegation includes two Democrats.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee announced a special session starting Tuesday for the GOP-controlled Legislature to eliminate the state's one Democratic-held House district, centered on majority-Black Memphis.
Trump Backs GOP Redistricting Push
President Trump encouraged the redistricting scramble in a social media post Sunday, claiming Republicans could gain 20 seats in the House through new maps.
We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done. That is more important than administrative convenience.
The Supreme Court decision struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, ruling that drawing district maps relied too heavily on race. The ruling triggered immediate action across the South as Republican officials eyed chances to implement new lines for the 2026 midterm elections, or at least 2028.
Florida approved new districts the day of the Supreme Court ruling, while Louisiana postponed its May 16 congressional primary. Louisiana's Republican leadership started planning to eliminate one or both congressional districts currently represented by Black lawmakers. South Carolina's governor suggested his state might also reconsider its map.
Democrats Cry Foul Over Voting Rights Rollback
Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, blasted the court decision and redistricting efforts as an attempt to roll back the Civil Rights Movement.
They said we're going to allow partisan politicians to gerrymander you, so that even when you show up, your voice won't have as much impact because we'll play with the lines. That isn't a new method. That's an old method. That's a Jim Crow method.
Warnock delivered his remarks Sunday from the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. once served as pastor.
The Supreme Court ruling has intensified an already fierce national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials potential new legal grounds to redraw voting districts. Federal judges had previously ordered Alabama to use a court-selected map with a second district containing a substantial number of Black voters.
Democrats and civil rights groups have filed lawsuits challenging the rapid redistricting moves, setting up another round of legal battles over voting rights and representation that could extend well into the election cycle.
