Chris Pringle
Federal court blocks Alabama’s congressional map, orders new lines drawn
A three-judge federal panel Tuesday ruled that a new Alabama congressional map failed to address Voting Rights Act violations and ordered a third party to draw new lines. In a 217-page opinion in the case, known as Allen v. Milligan, U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus and U.S. District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer sharply […]
Alabama’s redistricting strategy: Everyone embarrass themselves
Alabama’s legal defense of its new congressional map doesn’t make a lot of sense. Instead of addressing a court’s order in Allen v. Milligan to draw a second majority-Black district “or something quite close to it,” the Alabama attorney general’s office wants the judges overseeing the case to give the state a do-over, under rules […]
Milligan plaintiffs: New Alabama congressional map is unfair; approval process was closed
The plaintiffs challenging Alabama’s congressional maps wrote in a brief Friday that a map approved by the Legislature on July 21 had a discriminatory intent. Attorneys for plaintiffs in Allen v. Milligan also argued in the 21-page brief that the process of approving maps – included in a bill called SB 5 – was not […]
The Alabama Legislature dances back into federal court
A few weeks ago, my wife and I learned to dance the foxtrot. That’s a century-old step that (as taught to us) is pretty basic. Take your partner’s hand and put your other hand on your partner’s waist. If you’re the lead, take two steps forward. If you’re not, take two steps back. Step to […]
New Alabama congressional map headed to final votes in Alabama Legislature
An Alabama conference committee Friday approved a congressional map that would create a majority-Black congressional district in western Alabama and a district in southeast Alabama that would be about 40% Black. The proposal put more Black voters in the southeastern district, a proposed 2nd Congressional District, than a Senate proposal that would have set it […]
Legislature chooses committee to negotiate contract for new Alabama statehouse
The Alabama Legislature Tuesday appointed a committee to negotiate the terms for building a new statehouse. The team, selected after some haggling Tuesday’s Legislative Council meeting, will include Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, the chair of the council; Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, the council’s vice chair; House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville; Senate Majority Leader Bobby […]
Proposed Alabama congressional map would only have one majority-Black district
A Republican-dominated reapportionment committee Monday approved a new state congressional map that creates a majority-Black congressional district and one that is 42% Black. The party-line vote, coming on the first day of a special session for redistricting, came after Democrats said they were being ignored in the process and after two hours of discussion that […]
Alabama pursuing nation’s first new statehouse in nearly five decades
Lawmakers have several priorities for a new statehouse. One is providing a place for elementary school students to safely get off their buses. Trips to Goat Hill are a regular event for fourth-graders in Alabama. But the buses taking them have to stop on South Union Street, a busy street running between the State Capitol […]
Alabama legislators begin reapportionment hearings amid uncertainty over new maps
The first legislative reapportionment meeting ahead of a special session next month to redraw the state’s congressional maps featured a number of speakers urging the creation of two majority-minority districts. Evan Milligan, the plaintiff in Allen v. Milligan, which led to the U.S. Supreme Court upholding a lower court ruling effectively calling for a new […]
Alabama House approves bill allowing AG to redact names in professional service contracts
Two bills modifying the schedule and rules of the Contract Review Committee are provisions allowing the Alabama Attorney General’s Office to withhold information in professional service contracts. SB 222, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Gurley, was passed by the House Tuesday. HB 372, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, passed committee last week. The bills […]