Kay Ivey And Bill Lee Call Special Sessions After Supreme Court Voting Rights Act Ruling

A U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana amplified an already intense national redistricting battle, giving Republican officials in several states new grounds to redraw voting districts.

“WASHINGTON -- A Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana has amplified an already intense national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials in several states new grounds to redraw voting districts”

ABC7 San Francisco

In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday that she is calling a special legislative session to begin Monday in hopes that the Supreme Court allows the state to change its U.S. House map ahead of the November midterm elections.

ABC7 San Francisco

In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee also announced a special session for the GOP-controlled Legislature to break up the state's one Democratic-held House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis.

Louisiana suspended its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts, while a federal lawsuit asked a court to block the order and allow the House primary to occur as originally scheduled.

A three-judge federal court panel that heard the case appealed to the Supreme Court issued an order Thursday suspending Louisiana's congressional primary, and district court judges in Baton Rouge denied requests in two cases to temporarily block Landry's executive order.

The PBS report also notes that lawmakers, commissions or courts have adopted new House districts in eight states, and that the total could grow following the Supreme Court's decision that significantly weakened a provision in the federal Voting Rights Act.

The New York Times similarly frames the sequence as the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act case on Wednesday, followed by Louisiana's governor issuing an executive order delaying the state’s House primary elections and requesting the Legislature reconvene, and then Tennessee’s governor calling for a special session on Thursday.

The redistricting fight in Louisiana is being shaped by a fast-moving legal timeline and competing claims about what authority the governor had to change election dates.

PBS reports that Republican Gov. Jeff Landry moved quickly Thursday to postpone the congressional primary while allowing elections for other offices to go forward, and that a federal lawsuit filed later Thursday asked a court to block Landry's order and allow the House primary to occur as originally scheduled.

CNN

The ABC7 San Francisco account adds that the lawsuit asserted that tens of thousands of absentee ballots already have been mailed to people and a substantial number have been filled out and returned.

PBS further states that two more lawsuits asserting that the congressional primary should go forward were filed Friday in state court on behalf of voters who already had cast absentee ballots and several civil rights organizations.

It also reports that district court judges in Baton Rouge late Friday denied requests in two of those cases to temporarily block Landry's executive order.

Separately, PBS says a three-judge federal court panel that heard the case that was appealed to the Supreme Court issued an order Thursday suspending Louisiana's congressional primary.

The New York Times describes the same sequence at a higher level, saying that on Thursday Louisiana’s governor issued an executive order delaying the state’s House primary elections and requested the Legislature reconvene and pass new congressional maps.

Alabama’s response is being driven by both a new Supreme Court-driven opening and an existing court order about a near majority-Black district.

“2026 Senate races to watch: From most likely to flip to Democratic long shots The national political environment is a difficult one for Republicans”

NPR

PBS says Alabama officials on Thursday filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court seeking an expedited review of a pending appeal in a redistricting case that could affect the election, and it notes that a federal court in 2023 ordered the creation of a new near majority-Black district in Alabama, resulting in the election of a second Black representative to the U.S. House.

PBS also reports that Alabama is under a court order to use the new map until after the next census in 2030, and that an appeal pending before the Supreme Court argues that the map is an illegal racial gerrymander, a claim similar to that made in Louisiana.

The ABC7 San Francisco report adds that Alabama is seeking to lift an injunction blocking the use of the 2023 map drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature that did not include the new district, and it says the state's primaries are set for May 19.

It also quotes Republican Gov. Kay Ivey saying Wednesday that the state is "not in position to have a special session at this time" on redistricting, even as PBS says she announced a special legislative session to begin Monday.

Florida’s actions are described as immediate and tied to potential seat gains, with PBS stating that hours after the Supreme Court's decision, Florida's Republican-led Legislature approved new U.S. House districts that could help the GOP win up to four additional seats in November.

ABC7 San Francisco similarly says Florida’s Republican-led Legislature passed a new map on Wednesday and that Republicans, who control most of the state's congressional seats and the state’s legislative chambers, have been eyeing a gain of three to four seats.

Tennessee’s redistricting push is described as both a state-level legislative effort and a White House-linked pressure campaign.

PBS says Republican Gov. Bill Lee announced a special session for the GOP-controlled Legislature to break up the state's one Democratic-held House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis.

PBS

ABC7 San Francisco adds that the Tennessee General Assembly recently ended its annual session, but pressure is growing to bring lawmakers back to revise the state's congressional districts.

It also says Trump posted on social media Thursday that he had spoken with Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who he said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain an additional seat.

ABC7 San Francisco states that Democrats currently hold only one seat, a district centered in Memphis, which is majority Black, and it identifies Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, saying he is in conversations with the White House and others while reviewing the court's decision.

PBS similarly notes that President Donald Trump is pressuring other states such as Tennessee to also redistrict ahead of the midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the closely divided House.

The PBS report also places the pressure in a broader pattern, saying Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw U.S. House districts to give the party an advantage and that Democrats in California responded by doing the same.

While the core facts of the Supreme Court ruling and the resulting state actions are consistent across outlets, the emphasis and framing differ in ways that shape what readers take away about the stakes.

PBS emphasizes the legal and procedural sequence, describing Louisiana’s May 16 congressional primary suspension, the Baton Rouge court denials, and the Supreme Court’s weakening of a provision in the federal Voting Rights Act, while also quantifying the potential expansion of redistricting by saying lawmakers, commissions or courts have adopted new House districts in eight states.

The New York Times

The New York Times emphasizes a state-by-state tracking of how maps affecting November’s election have already been redone or where action is underway, and it explicitly ties the timeline to Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling, Thursday’s executive order and reconvening request, and Friday’s Tennessee special session.

ABC7 San Francisco, while also describing Louisiana’s suspension and the special sessions, highlights the absentee ballot issue by stating that the lawsuit asserted that tens of thousands of absentee ballots already have been mailed and that a substantial number have been filled out and returned.

CNN’s framing shifts again by focusing on upcoming House primaries and what they will reveal about Donald Trump and Democrats, describing Kentucky’s Rep. Thomas Massie targeted by Trump and a crowded primary in Montana, and it positions the redistricting battle as part of a broader midterm political dynamic.

NPR’s Senate-race landscape similarly shifts the lens away from district maps, describing the path to Senate control and naming states like North Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Alaska, Georgia, and New Hampshire, while still situating the environment as difficult for Republicans.

Across these accounts, the same Supreme Court decision is the trigger, but PBS and ABC7 foreground court timing and election mechanics, the New York Times foregrounds tracking and map changes, and CNN and NPR foreground the electoral consequences in primaries and Senate races.