Alabama signaled it will appeal a federal ruling that struck down part of its State Senate map and asked the court to pause its order while the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a closely watched redistricting case from Louisiana later this fall.
In a joint status report filed Wednesday, lawyers for Secretary of State Wes Allen said the state “intends to appeal” last week’s injunction and will ask the district court to stay its judgment pending the Supreme Court’s re-argument in Louisiana v. Callais, set for October 15.
Recent actions by the Supreme Court have signaled the Louisiana case is one where justices may significantly revise how the Voting Rights Act is applied across the country.
Alabama’s filing on Wednesday says election officials would need a remedial Senate map in place no later than November 17 to administer the May 19, 2026 primary without “disruption and confusion.”
It also reports that legislative leaders are weighing whether to convene and produce a new plan in late September or early October.
“Secretary Allen’s staff have reviewed the election calendar and considered which counties will likely be impacted by a remedial map. As the Secretary has said before, it is not possible to provide a date and say with confidence that Alabama can implement a remedial map entered by that date without disruption and confusion,” the state wrote in its report.
“…we do know that the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will fall during the time that Registrars are re-assigning voters, and it is likely that one or more of the counties impacted by a remedial plan will be required to reassign manually. All this considered, the Secretary believes that a remedial map for the 2026 election would need to be in place on or before November 17, 2025 to mitigate these concerns.”
Plaintiffs told the court they do not oppose appointing a special master as a contingency and proposed an accelerated schedule keyed to the state’s November 17 date.
As previously reported, U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco ruled that Alabama’s 2021 Senate map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in the Montgomery area and barred the state from using that plan in 2026.
The court ordered a remedy that includes either “an additional majority-Black Senate district in the Montgomery area, or an additional district there in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a Senator of their choice,” yet while denying the same request for districts in the Huntsville region.
State attorneys argue a stay is warranted while the Supreme Court considers the Louisiana redistricting case, which could reshape how, and whether, race may be considered in redistricting.
Louisiana officials are urging the Court to bar the use of race in drawing districts and the justices have scheduled re-argument for October 15.
Grayson Everett is the editor and chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
