Stories

Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

May 1, 2026

Alabama and Tennessee Call Special Sessions to Redraw Congressional Maps After Callais Ruling

Following the Supreme Court's April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee both announced special legislative sessions in early May 2026 to redraw congressional maps — part of a broader Republican-led redistricting wave sweeping the South before the 2026 midterms. Ivey called Alabama's session on May 1, initially having said the state was "not in position" for a special session before reversing course. Alabama's situation is complex: the state has an existing federal court injunction blocking the legislature from redrawing its map before 2030, stemming from a prior Voting Rights Act violation. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall separately asked the Supreme Court to lift that injunction. Alabama Republicans have targeted the state's majority-Black 7th Congressional District, held by Rep. Terri Sewell. The special session kicked off May 5. Tennessee announced its session on May 1, with Republicans planning to redraw the US House district covering majority-Black Memphis — currently represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen — which had been redrawn after Shelby County v. Holder but may now be vulnerable post-Callais. Civil rights advocates and Democratic officials condemned both sessions as attempts to disenfranchise Black voters under cover of the Supreme Court's ruling.

Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter-Approved Redistricting Amendment

On May 8, 2026, the Virginia Supreme Court voted 4-3 to strike down a voter-approved constitutional amendment that would have redrawn Virginia's congressional map to give Democrats an advantage in 10 of the state's 11 seats. The court ruled that Democratic lawmakers violated procedural requirements by holding the first vote on October 31, 2025, after early voting had already begun — with roughly 40% of ballots already cast — depriving over 1.3 million Virginians of the opportunity to weigh the issue when choosing their representatives. The ruling leaves the existing 6-5 Democratic congressional map in place for the 2026 midterm elections. Virginia Democrats immediately appealed to the US Supreme Court, asking the high court to reinstate the congressional map.

Tennessee Republicans Unveil Map to Eliminate Lone Democratic Seat

On May 6-7, 2026, Tennessee Republicans introduced, passed, and sent to Gov. Bill Lee a congressional map that splits the Black-majority 9th District — held since 2007 by Democrat Steve Cohen of Memphis — across three Republican-leaning districts, giving Republicans a potential 9-0 sweep. The House passed the map 64-25 and the Senate 25-5, largely along party lines. Lee signed a repeal of the state's 50-year-old prohibition on mid-decade redistricting less than an hour after it cleared the chamber, paving the way for the map to take effect. The effort was called explicitly by Trump and follows the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that dramatically weakened the Voting Rights Act and cleared states to draw maps on partisan grounds.

Louisiana Suspends US House Primaries After SCOTUS Redistricting Ruling

After the Supreme Court's April 29, 2026 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais struck down the state's existing congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the state's May 16 U.S. House primaries — even though mail-in ballots had already been sent — to allow the legislature to draw a new map. The legislature began public hearings on May 4, with lawmakers signaling they would likely keep the majority-Black district based in Baton Rouge while eliminating the New Orleans-based majority-Black district currently held by Rep. Troy Carter, who would face losing his seat under the leading proposal.

Supreme Court Guts Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais

On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana's congressional map creating a second majority-Black district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, effectively gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion for the six conservative justices, holding that states can almost never use race as a factor when drawing maps to comply with the VRA — including when doing so is intended to remedy prior discrimination. The ruling rewrites the standard for bringing a Section 2 claim in a way that critics say makes it nearly impossible to use the law to protect minority voting rights in redistricting. The decision carries sweeping national implications. Analysts predict it could allow Republican-controlled legislatures across the South to redraw congressional maps before the 2026 midterms in ways that reduce minority representation, potentially shifting as many as 19 additional seats into the GOP column. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves called a special session beginning around May 20 to redraw state Supreme Court districts. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said the ruling requires Georgia to draw new maps before 2028 but declined to call a special session for 2026. Civil rights groups called it the most devastating blow to voting rights in generations.

DeSantis Releases Florida Congressional Map to Create 24-4 Republican Advantage

On April 27, 2026, Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a new Florida congressional map targeting four Democratic incumbents, which passed the Republican-controlled legislature in a rushed process and was sent to DeSantis for signature. The map would create a 24-4 Republican advantage in Florida's congressional delegation, targeting Reps. Kathy Castor (Tampa), Darren Soto (Orlando), Lois Frankel, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (both Miami). DeSantis first released the map to Fox News before Florida lawmakers had seen it. The legislature held hearings one day and voted the next, passing the House 83-28 and Senate 21-17 along party lines. The redistricting blitz followed the Supreme Court's April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which effectively gutted VRA Section 2 protections and opened the door for Republican-controlled states to redraw maps before the 2026 midterms. The new Florida map faces legal challenges under the state's Fair Districts constitutional amendment, which bans partisan gerrymandering.

Trump Calls on Republicans to 'Nationalize' Elections

During a nearly two-hour appearance on Dan Bongino's podcast on February 2, 2026, President Trump called on Republicans to "take over" and "nationalize" voting in at least 15 unspecified places, claiming without evidence that noncitizens were being brought to the country to vote illegally. The remarks drew bipartisan pushback, with legal experts noting such a move would contradict the Constitution's elections clause, which delegates election administration to state governments. The comments came days after the FBI executed a search warrant at a Fulton County, Georgia election office seeking 2020 election records.