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Alabama SB 403 — Senate, districts redrawn (2017)
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redistricting procedures |
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2020 |
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SB 403, enacted as Act 2017-347, was introduced in the Alabama State Legislature and enacted during the 2017 general legislative session. SB 403 provided for the reapportionment and redistricting of the Alabama State Senate in advance of the general election in 2018. The bill mandated that these new districts would be in effect until the next census. SB 403 was enacted as Act 2017-347 and became effective on May 23, 2017. A similar bill, HB 571, which passed the same year, also redistricted the Alabama House of Representatives in advance of the 2018 general election.
Note: This page summarizes a noteworthy law regarding redistricting in Alabama. It is not part of a comprehensive list of redistricting legislation for this year or state.
Background
Redistricting in Alabama
- See also: Redistricting in Alabama
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Alabama's seven United States Representatives and 140 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[1][2][3][4]
Alabama was apportioned seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census.
On October 5, 2023, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama approved a new congressional district map. The map created a new district with a 48.7% Black voting-age population. In its decision, the panel said that "this plan satisfies all constitutional and statutory requirements while hewing as closely as reasonably possible to the Alabama legislature’s 2023 Plan."[5]
A three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled on September 5, 2023, that the revised congressional district boundaries that the Alabama legislature enacted on July 21, 2023, were not in accordance with the Voting Rights Act.[6] The state adopted the revised congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 8, 2023, that the state's congressional redistricting plan adopted on November 4, 2021, violated the Voting Rights Act and had to be redrawn to include a second majority-Black district.[7][8] The federal district court's order said, "this Court concluded that the 2023 Plan did not remedy the likely Section 2 violation found by this Court and affirmed by the Supreme Court. We, therefore, preliminarily enjoined Secretary Allen from using the 2023 Plan in Alabama’s upcoming 2024 congressional elections."[6]
On August 22, 2025, the district court struck down the state senate map as a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.[9]
Alabama enacted state legislative maps for the state Senate and House of Representatives on Nov. 4, 2021, after Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the proposals into law.[10] Senators approved the Senate map on Nov. 1 with a 25-7 vote.[11] Representatives approved the Senate map on Nov. 3 with a 76-26 vote.[10] For the House proposal, representatives voted 68-35 in favor on Nov. 1 and senators followed on Nov. 3 with a 22-7 vote.[12] These maps took effect for Alabama's 2022 legislative elections.
Click here for more information on maps enacted after the 2020 census.
Legislative history
SB 403 was introduced in the Alabama State Senate on April 27, 2017. The bill's chief sponsor in the House was Gerald Dial (R). The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Tourism and Marketing. The bill passed its second reading on May 3, 2017, and was placed on the Senate calendar. The third reading passed on May 4, 2017, by a vote of 25-7. The bill was read for the first time in the House and referred to the House Constitution, Campaigns, and Elections Committee on May 4, 2017. The second reading occurred on May 9, 2017, and the third on May 18, 2017, when passed by a vote of 71-32. The bill was delivered to the governor and signed into law on May 19, 2017.[13]
Provisions
HB 571 mandated the repeal of section 29-1-1.3 of the Code of Alabama. This section divided the state into 35 Senate Districts. The law, following the repeal of the current section 29-1-1.2, introduced a new section 29-1-1.3, also dividing the state into 35 new House Districts. The law was set to take effect for the 2018 general election and to remain in effect until otherwise repealed or the state is again reapportioned and redistricted in accordance with the state constitution.[14]
See also
- Redistricting in Alabama
- Redistricting legislation at the state and city levels in the United States, 2017
- Alabama State Legislature
- Alabama HB 571 — House of Representatives, districts redrawn
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Why does it matter?" accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Indy Week, "Cracked, stacked and packed: Initial redistricting maps met with skepticism and dismay," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Atlantic, "How the Voting Rights Act Hurts Democrats and Minorities," June 17, 2013
- ↑ Redrawing the Lines, "The Role of Section 2 - Majority Minority Districts," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, "Case 2:21-cv-01530-AMM," accessed October 6, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, "Milligan, et. al v. Allen, et. al," September 5, 2023
- ↑ CNN, "Alabama GOP-controlled legislature approves congressional map with just one majority-Black district despite court order," accessed July 21, 2023
- ↑ MSN, "Supreme Court rules in favor of Black voters in Alabama redistricting case," June 8, 2023
- ↑ Alabama Reflector, "Federal judge: Alabama Senate map violates Voting Rights Act," August 22, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Montgomery Advertiser, "Gov. Kay Ivey signs off on Alabama congressional, legislative, SBOE maps for 2022," Nov. 4, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Political Reporter, "Alabama Senate passes Senate, State School Board districts," Nov. 1, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Political Report, "House district lines comfortably pass House over objections from both sides ," Nov. 1, 2021
- ↑ LegiScan, "Alabama Senate Bill 403," accessed November 21, 2017
- ↑ LegiScan, "SB 571 (2017)," accessed November 21, 2017
