Republican legislators across multiple Southern states are moving forward with plans to redraw congressional maps following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, despite strong opposition from civil rights organizations.
Tennessee will begin a special legislative session Tuesday to consider redistricting changes, while Alabama started similar proceedings Monday. Louisiana officials are also preparing new House district maps after the Supreme Court overturned the state’s existing boundaries last week.
The Supreme Court’s decision determined that Louisiana placed excessive emphasis on racial considerations when establishing a second district with a Black majority while attempting to follow Voting Rights Act requirements. This ruling has fundamentally changed how the law has been interpreted for decades and given Republican officials in multiple states justification to target majority-Black districts that typically send Democrats to Congress.
The potential changes could reverse years of progress made to protect minority voting representation, particularly affecting Black Americans’ congressional representation.
Former President Donald Trump has pushed additional states to pursue redistricting as Republicans work to maintain their slim House majority in the upcoming elections.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Monday before Alabama’s special session commenced, holding signs that read “No new map” and “We fight back! Black Voters Matter.”
The protesters assembled across from Alabama’s historic Capitol building, the same location where the Confederacy began in 1861 and where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to thousands following the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights.
“Much blood, sweat and tears was shed in an effort for us to gain the right to vote,” stated Sheyann Webb-Christburg, who participated as a child in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march in Selma. “In 2026, there are still people who are still not exercising that right to vote, and we are still fighting today, even in an effort to keep our right to vote.”
Alabama’s Republican Governor Kay Ivey convened the special session to develop backup plans for special primary elections, hoping the Supreme Court will allow Alabama to implement new congressional maps before November’s midterm elections.
A federal three-judge panel had previously mandated that Alabama use a court-approved map featuring a second district with significant Black voter representation until new boundaries are created following the 2030 Census. Alabama has appealed this ruling and requested permission to return to a 2023 map created by Republican state legislators, citing the Louisiana decision. This earlier map could improve Republican chances of winning at least one seat currently occupied by Black Democratic representatives.
“This is the voice of the people,” declared Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter while advocating for the Republican proposal. “We had three judges determine how five million people were supposed to vote, and I don’t think that’s the way.”
During a town hall organized by a Democratic-aligned organization, former U.S. Senator Doug Jones, who is seeking the governor’s office as a Democrat, stated that Alabama was “ground zero for voting rights, and we are going to be ground zero to make sure we retain those voting rights.”
Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee summoned state lawmakers to a special session to examine a proposal that could divide the state’s only Democratic-controlled House district, which centers around Memphis and its majority-Black population. This action follows pressure from Trump.
Tennessee’s candidate filing deadline passed in March, with primary elections set for August 6.
Religious leaders opposed to splitting Memphis’ congressional representation gathered Monday to condemn the proposed changes.
“This latest attempt at redistricting is not just about lines on a map. It is about misrepresentation,” declared Rev. Earle Fisher, pastor at Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church and founder of Up the Vote 901, referencing Memphis’ area code. “It’s about whether the voices of Black people in this state will be heard or hidden.”
Following last week’s Supreme Court ruling, Louisiana quickly postponed its May 16 congressional primary to provide lawmakers time to approve new House districts.
Republican state Senator Caleb Kleinpeter, who leads a Senate redistricting committee, informed The Associated Press that his panel plans a public hearing Friday on congressional redistricting. Kleinpeter indicated lawmakers are evaluating various options, including legislation that would remove one or both of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts.
Democratic officials and civil rights organizations have initiated multiple legal challenges to Louisiana’s primary postponement, including a new federal court filing Monday. They are urging Louisiana residents to vote in congressional primaries during the ongoing early voting period, in case courts later validate those ballots.
Congressional district boundaries are typically redrawn once per decade following census data to reflect population shifts. However, Trump encouraged Texas Republicans last year to redraw House districts for partisan advantage. California Democrats responded similarly, prompting other states to follow suit.
Florida became the eighth state to implement new House districts before midterm elections when Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday he had signed revised maps approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature. The changes could help Republicans secure up to four additional House seats. Legal challenges immediately followed, with opponents arguing the new map constitutes partisan gerrymandering that violates Florida’s constitutional ban on districts favoring one political party.
Overall, Republicans believe they could gain up to 13 seats from new congressional districts across five states, while Democrats estimate they could add up to 10 seats from new districts in three states. The proposed Southern state redistricting could increase Republican gains.
