Alabama has approached the Supreme Court to permit the use of a congressional map that favors Republicans in the upcoming elections. This move comes despite a lower court’s decision that the map discriminates against Black voters. The state’s Republican leadership filed an emergency appeal following a three-judge court’s refusal to allow the use of a map that includes a majority Black population in only one of its seven districts.
Background and Legal Developments
The legal battle over Alabama’s congressional map has been ongoing for several years. In 2023, a three-judge panel ruled that the map drawn by Republican lawmakers diluted the voting power of Black citizens, who make up about 27% of the state’s population. The court mandated that Alabama should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or nearly so. This court-ordered map was used in the 2024 elections.
Following a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana, Alabama officials sought to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority had lifted an injunction blocking the map’s use, sending the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration.
Current Appeal and Political Context
Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall argues that the state did not intentionally discriminate and should be allowed to use a map chosen by lawmakers. The appeal is part of a broader effort by Republicans, including support from former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, to reshape voting districts in Southern states with significant minority populations. This push aims to maintain the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
The judicial panel, upon further review, upheld its initial finding of intentional racial discrimination, independent of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act. The panel ordered that special congressional primaries proceed under the previous court-approved districts. The use of this map led to the election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat, in 2024. State Republicans are now seeking to reclaim a south Alabama seat through the new map.
Alabama has requested the Supreme Court’s decision by Monday as it prepares for special primaries in August.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
