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Alabama
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Alabama

Deep South state whose voided map survived a SCOTUS shadow-docket stay; re-do primary 11 August.

Last refreshed: 1 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Did the Supreme Court's shadow-docket stay validate Alabama's mid-primary map swap?

Timeline for Alabama

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Common Questions
How does the Louisiana v Callais case affect Alabama?
Alabama is specifically named as a state whose redistricting litigation would be affected by a ruling narrowing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.Source: Event: SCOTUS VRA case
Why did Alabama void its own primary election in 2026?
Alabama nullified its 19 May 2026 congressional primary mid-count after the legislature passed new district lines under the post-Callais redistricting standard, which eliminated the VRA Section 2 majority-minority district requirement.Source: Lowdown
What happened to Alabama's majority-Black congressional district after Callais?
Alabama's 7th Congressional District, drawn as a majority-Black seat under Allen v. Milligan (2023), was eliminated by the new post-Callais map signed into law in May 2026.Source: Lowdown

Background

Alabama is a Deep South state with a 27% Black population and a history of redistricting disputes under the Voting Rights Act. Alabama's congressional map has been a flashpoint since the Supreme Court's 2023 Allen v. Milligan ruling, which upheld Section 2 challenges to dilutive maps and ordered the state to draw a second majority-Black congressional district.

Alabama became the first state to void an in-progress primary election under the Callais doctrine on 19 May 2026, nullifying its own congressional primary mid-count after the legislature passed new district lines eliminating the seat held by Representative Shomari Figures (D, Mobile) . A district court initially blocked the new map on 26 May, but the Supreme Court reversed that block with an unsigned 6-3 shadow-docket stay on 2 June 2026, allowing Alabama to hold its 11 August primary re-do under the contested lines; Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Brown Jackson dissented .

With the stay in place, Alabama proceeded to run its Republican and Democratic congressional runoffs on 16 June 2026: Barry Moore won the Republican runoff, defeating Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, while attorney Everett Wess took the Democratic runoff with 72% over Dakarai Larriett . The redrawn districts still face their full re-do primary on 11 August 2026. Alabama's sequence, voided primary, Supreme Court stay, then resumed runoffs under the disputed map, has become the procedural template other post-Callais states are watched against.

More questions
How many states voided or redrew districts after the Callais ruling?
At least four states called redistricting sessions immediately after the 5 May judgment forthwith: Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Mississippi. Florida and Tennessee had already signed maps by mid-May 2026.Source: Lowdown
When is Alabama's rescheduled primary after the May 2026 void?
Alabama election officials have 30 days from 19 May 2026 to set a new primary date; no rescheduled date had been announced as of the void.Source: Lowdown
What was the Allen v. Milligan ruling and why does Callais override it?
Allen v. Milligan (2023) required Alabama to draw a second majority-Black congressional district under VRA Section 2. Louisiana v. Callais (2026) eliminated that obligation nationally, making the Milligan order unenforceable.Source: Supreme Court
Did the Supreme Court let Alabama use its contested congressional map?
Yes. The Supreme Court issued an unsigned 6-3 shadow-docket stay on 2 June 2026, reversing a lower-court block and allowing Alabama to proceed under the redrawn, post-Callais lines.Source: Supreme Court
Who won Alabama's Republican congressional runoff in 2026?
Barry Moore defeated Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in the Republican runoff on 16 June 2026, held under the redrawn map after the Supreme Court's shadow-docket stay.Source: Lowdown