ACLU Alabama – ACLU of Alabama says it will challenge new special election bills, while Gov. Kay Ivey signs them amid ongoing court fights.
A bitter courtroom battle is now the next step for Alabama after the ACLU of Alabama vowed to take the state to federal court over two bills signed into law this week during a special legislative session.
Calling Friday one of the darkest days in Alabama legislative history. the ACLU of Alabama’s executive director. JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist. said a majority of state lawmakers voted to “unconstitutionally disenfranchise” nearly three-fifths of Alabama voters.. Gilchrist argued the state’s approach violates the 14th Amendment because courts have found Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters in congressional and legislative maps. including findings reflected in the Callais opinion.
The ACLU’s promise to fight in court centers on two measures passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed immediately by Gov.. Kay Ivey.. Both bills are designed to clear the way for new special elections that would proceed using prior versions of Alabama’s U.S.. Congressional district lines and State Senate district lines, but only if the U.S.. Supreme Court lifts its existing injunction.
Federal courts previously ruled that the state’s district maps were intentionally racially discriminatory.. The new bills reflect a different posture taken by Alabama Republicans after the Supreme Court’s Callais ruling. with Republican lawmakers arguing that the federal court. in effect. had drawn maps in an illegally racially gerrymandered way.
Friday’s legislative push unfolded amid heightened tension at the Alabama Statehouse.. House proceedings were briefly disrupted when Dee Reed. the Alabama state organizing manager for Black Voters Matter. began chanting in the House gallery.. Law enforcement removed Reed after she collapsed to the ground twice. escorted her out of the statehouse. and did not arrest her.
Opponents of the legislation framed the day as historic. with protesters comparing the moment to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.. The chaotic atmosphere underscored how intensely the new bills are being viewed not simply as routine election administration. but as another turn in an escalating redistricting fight.
Despite the public backlash and the courtroom stakes surrounding redistricting, Gov.. Ivey signed both bills into law shortly after the final votes were completed on Friday.. In her remarks after signing. she said Alabama was ready to act quickly if courts issue favorable rulings in the state’s ongoing redistricting cases.. She credited Republican legislative leadership and Speaker Pro Tem Gudger for moving forward “in fast order” to address the issue during the special session.
Ivey’s statement positioned the bills as contingent on the courts. emphasizing that the state would move quickly only if judicial outcomes aligned with the lawmakers’ plan.. She said Alabama “knows our state. our people and our districts best. ” reflecting the state’s view that its approach should control once litigation shifts.
The legal timetable tightened soon after the session ended.. A federal appeals court denied Secretary of State Wes Allen’s motion to lift the injunction. with the court writing that the decision now rests with the U.S.. Supreme Court.. Under that scenario, the existing injunction would keep the new legislation from taking effect.
That sequence matters: the bills are built around a future possibility—special elections based on earlier district maps—yet the current injunction limits whether anything changes on the ground.. In effect. the state’s newly signed laws appear to be a procedural bridge designed to move quickly if the Supreme Court removes barriers currently blocking implementation.
ACLU Alabama special election bills redistricting injunction Kay Ivey Wes Allen Callais opinion 14th Amendment