Governor Kay Ivey signed a proclamation Tuesday calling a Special Primary Election for August 11, 2026 in Alabama’s 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th Congressional Districts.

In doing so, she’s executing on the authority state lawmakers handed her last week during a special session and pulling the trigger less than 24 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the federal court injunctions that had forced Alabama to draw its congressional map around race.

The new election calendar runs on a tight timeline. Major-party qualifying opens Wednesday, May 20, and closes Friday, May 22, at 5:00 p.m. 53 hours.

There will be no runoff. The general election remains on Tuesday, November 3.

“Alabama knows our state, our people, and our districts best,” Ivey said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“The United States Supreme Court’s decision is plain common sense and enables our values to be best represented in Congress. For years, we have fought for this outcome, and I am proud to celebrate this win for Alabamians.”

The proclamation triggers special primary elections in the four districts whose lines materially change between the court-imposed 2024 map and the Alabama Legislature-drawn 2023 Livingston map, which is now back in force.

Districts 3, 4, and 5 – held by U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), and Dale Strong (R-Huntsville), respectively – are unchanged and will hold their primaries as scheduled on May 19.

Under the Livingston map, six of Alabama’s seven seats now sit squarely in Republican hands.

Whether the state can ultimately get to a 7-0 delegation will come down to what the three-judge panel does next on remand — and whether lawmakers are willing to return to Montgomery one more time.

But the biggest detail in Tuesday’s proclamation is the qualifying window.

From 8 a.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Friday, every Alabamian who wants to run for U.S. Congress in the affected districts has to decide, file paperwork, and qualify with a party.

The major parties have to certify their candidate lists to the Secretary of State by noon Tuesday, May 26.

A normal congressional qualifying period in Alabama runs roughly 10 weeks.

Ultimately, the fields will be set by Friday night and will look a lot like the fields that already exist.

The proclamation also confirms that there will be no runoff in the special primary.

Secretary of State Wes Allen confirmed Monday that the May 19 primary will proceed as scheduled. Local election officials, who have been pre-positioning for weeks for exactly this contingency, are expected to release voter-education materials in the coming days.

Alabama’s federal redistricting arc as reported by Yellowhammer News: 

• 2021: Reapportionment done. Legislative races begin.
• 2023: U.S. Supreme Court rejects Alabama Legislature’s maps
• 2023: Federal judges issue final map to Alabama
• 2025: Lawmakers propose special primaries if Louisiana overturned
• 2026: Alabama gets new shot at full-GOP-sweep congressional map
• 2026: Alabama lawmakers pass contingency plan
• 2026: U.S. Supreme Court cancels race-based redistricting in Alabama

Considering the timeline of Alabama’s historic redistricting arc, state officials’ execution moving from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling 13 days ago in Louisiana v. Callais to a f new election calendar in Alabama is one of the most coordinated among Republican states in the nation.

On April 30, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed emergency motions in three federal courts. On May 2, Ivey called a special session. From May 4 through May 9, the Legislature passed a contingency election calendar. On May 11, the Supreme Court vacated the injunctions. And today, Governor Ivey put that calendar into play.

Alabama Senate Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) pre-filed SB23 in November 2025 when most were still treating Callais as a long shot. Ivey thanked he and Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) in her statement today.

“As I said at the close of our special session last week, Alabama now stands ready to quickly act,” Ivey said.

“I thank Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and Pro Tem Garlan Gudger for their focus last week that has allowed us to be in this strong position to move forward with our 2023 Alabama-drawn congressional map.

Alabamians now have another opportunity to send strong voices to Washington to fight for our values. We are experiencing strong momentum in Alabama, and I am very optimistic for our future.”

In 2026, Alabama may very well send a full-Republican delegation to Congress for the first time in state history.