MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers looking to take part in a national redistricting battle could vote Friday on a plan to alter the state's congressional primaries if the courts allow Republican state officials to switch to a more advantageous U.S. House map ahead of the November midterm elections.

The Republican redistricting push in Alabama and other Southern states comes as Democrats suffered a major setback in their own redistricting efforts. Virginia's Supreme Court on Friday invalidated a voter-approved congressional map that Democrats had been counting on to deliver as many as four additional U.S. House seats in this year's elections.

Republicans in Southern states, meanwhile, have moved quickly to try to capitalize on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Louisiana case that significantly weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minorities. Tennessee enacted new congressional districts Thursday that carve up a Democratic-held, Black-majority district in Memphis. Louisiana postponed its U.S. House primaries as lawmakers work to enact new districts. And Republicans in the South Carolina House have proposed a new U.S. House map.

Even before the high court ruling, Republicans and Democrats already were engaged in a fierce redistricting battle, each seeking an edge in the midterm elections that will determine control of the closely divided House. That battle tilted further toward Republicans on Friday because of the Virginia ruling.

Since President Donald Trump prodded Texas to redraw its congressional districts last summer, Republicans think they could gain as many as 14 seats from new districts in several states while Democrats think they could gain up to six seats. But the parties may not get everything they sought, because the gerrymandering could backfire in some highly competitive districts.

Alabama primaries could be in flux

Alabama has asked federal judges to lift a court order requiring the state to have a second district where Black voters are the majority or close to it. That district gave rise in 2024 to the election of Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who is Black.

Republicans instead want to put in place a map lawmakers drew in 2023 — which was rejected by a federal court — that could allow them to reclaim Figures’ district. Black residents currently make up about 48% of the district’s voting-age population. That would drop to about 39% under the 2023 map.

Republicans hope the federal courts will see the case differently in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Louisiana decision. If a court grants Alabama’s request, the legislation under consideration would ignore the May 19 primary for some congressional seats and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.

“It is an if, and only if, the courts take action,” Republican state Sen. Chris Elliott said.

The House passed the legislation on a party-line vote Wednesday. A final vote Friday by the Senate would send it to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.

Addressing a Senate committee Thursday, Figures said his concern isn’t for himself but for the people who fought for decades “to have a voice in what government looks like.”

Some Democrats noted that the state’s segregationist past isn’t that long ago, and it was districts created under the Voting Rights Act that gave rise to Black representation after centuries of disenfranchisement.

“How long are we going to have to repeat history before we realize that all people deserve to be respected and deserve to have the feeling that they are valued?” asked Democratic state Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, who is Black.

Louisiana lawmakers consider map options

A Louisiana Senate committee considered several redistricting options Friday, as voting rights activists packed the statehouse halls and filled multiple overflow rooms for the hearing. Protesters chanted “shut it down” as state senators discussed redistricting bills.

One bill, authored by Republican state Sen. John “Jay” Morris, would eliminate all majority Black districts in the state. Also under consideration are two bills from Morris allowing for one majority Black district, either centered around New Orleans or Baton Rouge. A majority Black district encompassing Baton Rouge would favor U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, a Democrat who has forged ties with Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. A majority Black district centered on New Orleans would bolster Democratic U.S. Rep. Troy Carter.

State Sen. Gary Carter, a Democrat representing New Orleans, started the hearing by grilling Republicans on the fate of the tens of thousands of ballots already cast in Louisiana’s U.S. House primaries before they were suspended last week by Landry.

“My simple question is: What’s the status of those votes that’s already been cast? Are they going to be counted or are they going to be discarded?” Carter said

State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, who chairs the committee tasked with redistricting, said no one from the secretary of state’s office was in attendance. Kleinpeter said he did not have answers to those questions

South Carolina considers a House map

A small group of South Carolina lawmakers held a rare Friday meeting to discuss a proposed new congressional map intended to allow Republicans a clean sweep of the state’s seven U.S. House seats.

The hearing was the first step in redistricting. But the future of the effort remains murky. The state Senate has yet to agree to meet to consider new districts later this month, an action that would require a two-thirds vote.

The new map has some Republicans nervous. Breaking up the 6th District, represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, makes the other six districts less Republican.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who last month said Republicans should fight fire with fire and be bold, told reporters Thursday that state lawmakers need to use common sense.

“If at the end of the day we create a map that gives Democrats perhaps more competitive opportunities, what have we gained? You may pick up one seat; you may risk two or three others,” Graham said.

At Friday’s subcommittee meeting, lawmakers heard hours of testimony, almost all against the new map. The hearing included a consultant who reviewed the map, saying it appeared to be legal under the Supreme Court's decision in the Louisiana case.

“I agree if the law allows us to do it, then we can do It,” Democratic state Rep. Justin Bamberg said. “But I can slap somebody’s mama and it’s not the right thing to do.”

Also testifying was the director of South Carolina’s elections. The state's primaries are June 9, and early voting begins May 26. Some absentee ballots already have been returned, Executive Director Conway Belangia said.

Lawmakers are considering delaying all South Carolina primaries until August or just the congressional primaries. Candidate filing will be reopened if a new map is approved. Running a new election "will be difficult, but it will be possible,” Belangia said.

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Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina; Brook from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Lieb from Jefferson City, Missouri.