The Alabama House of Representatives Wednesday passed a bill that would change the date of primary elections in four congressional districts should the federal courts allow the state to use an old map that would alter their boundaries.
HB 1, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tempore Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, would allow for a new special election if the U.S. Supreme Court lifts an injunction preventing the state from redrawing congressional maps before 2030.
“This bill simply creates a mechanism to hold special primary elections in certain congressional districts should the federal courts relieve us of the federal injunction against us,” Pringle said.
Secretary of State Wes Allen and Attorney General Steve Marshall sought to have the injunction removed last week after the U.S. Supreme Court significantly weakened a key part of the Voting Rights Act. Pringle said on the House floor he has not read Callais.
The bill passed 75-29 after nearly five hours of sometimes heated debate, in which House Democrats — nearly all of whom spoke on Wednesday — accused majority Republicans of denying Black Alabamians representation in Congress.
“This body continues to find more ways to make voting more difficult, more ways to suppress the vote and more ways to dilute the power of the Black vote,” said Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile. “Make no mistake, that’s what HB 1 would do, and it’s a tragic step backwards for Black Alabama voters. But we’ve been here before and we will not give up this fight.”
No representative spoke in favor of the legislation. Rep. Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise, abstained from the vote.
Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, leans against the dais in the Alabama House of Representatives on May 6, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Wednesday debated a bill that would allow the state to set new primary dates should federal courts allow Alabama to revert to congressional and legislative maps previously declared discriminatory against Black Alabamians. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
However, exchanges got tense. While Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, spoke about Alabama’s history of Black voter suppression and segregation, House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said she was not staying relevant to the bill.
“The Speaker gaveled me down, no differently than when he gaveled down one of my other colleagues when we began to get into race and when we began to get into history,” she told reporters on Wednesday . “We cannot stand here today without speaking about history, without talking about slavery, without talking about the assassination of (Dr. Martin Luther) King (Jr.).”
Ledbetter also gaveled down Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, during debate when things got heated between her and Pringle.
“It is time that we stop standing on the past and move into the future. I am tired of the doors that were closed that are just now cracking open,” she said.
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa said the state’s loss in Allen v. Milligan was “bad lawyering.”
“Essentially Alabama’s on four years of probation, and instead of honoring that four years of probation, we’re in this session trying to go on a bender,” he said. “And there will be consequences to that, because to my estimation and many others, we are in contempt because we said we weren’t going to do anything like this.”
Democrats also mentioned a comment made by Marshall on Tuesday where he argued that Black voters can be adequately represented by the Republican Party.
“That’s the equivalent of saying that Black people should be led and governed by a master from slavery days,” Givan said.
Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile (bottom) speaks in opposition to a bill that would set new primary dates in the state on May 6, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama, The measure would take effect if federal courts allow the state to revert back to congressional and legislative maps previously ruled discriminatory against Black voters. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
After 27 of the 29 House Democrats spoke, Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale, introduced a motion to end debate that passed along party lines.
Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, used the final 10 minutes of debate to question why Republicans didn’t speak up for the bill, alluding to Rep. Kenneth Paschal, R-Pelham, the House’s single Black Republican.
“This bill produces such a racial gerrymander, that not even the lone Black Republican serving in this body will hit his speaker light to come down to the well and defend it,” he said.
A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with Paschal, who voted for the bill.
After the House adjourned, House Democrats said they are planning to file a motion in Allen v. Milligan alleging the passing of HB 1 is a violation of the court’s ruling.
“We should not be here,” Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery, said. “The court has ruled that we should wait until 2030. They do not even have a court ruling to vacate this case so we can even be here.”
The bill moves to the Senate.
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