Why It Matters
Alabama is preparing to implement a new congressional map that reduces the number of majority-Black districts from two to one, following a Supreme Court decision that removes a legal barrier to the state’s redistricting plan. The change could shift the partisan balance in the state’s congressional delegation and follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.
The state legislature has already moved the primary election date to accommodate the new map, with voting scheduled to begin next week.
What Happened
The Supreme Court on Monday sent Alabama redistricting litigation back to a lower court, effectively allowing the state to move forward with a congressional map that includes one majority-Black district rather than two. The court’s conservative majority issued the decision over objections from its three liberal justices.
The ruling follows an April 29 Supreme Court decision in a Louisiana case that limited a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, making it more difficult to challenge maps that may dilute minority voting power. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall had requested expedited action from the justices to clear the way for the state’s preferred map.
Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation pushing back the state’s primary elections, originally scheduled for May 19, to allow time for implementation of the new map.
By the Numbers
Alabama’s population is more than 25 percent Black, distributed across seven congressional districts. The state’s previous court-ordered map, used in the 2024 election, included two majority-Black districts. Democrats won both of those races.
Under the new Republican-drawn map, only one district would have a Black majority, reducing minority representation in the state’s congressional delegation.
Zoom Out
The Alabama case is part of a broader national redistricting battle with control of the House at stake. The Supreme Court issued a similar decision last week in a Louisiana redistricting dispute, both of which favor Republican map-drawing efforts.
Alabama has been fighting civil rights plaintiffs over its congressional maps since the redistricting that followed the 2020 census. The state initially won a surprising defeat at the Supreme Court in June 2023, which required a second majority-Black district. After Alabama’s second attempt at a map was also rejected in September 2023, a court-drawn map with two majority-Black districts was implemented for the 2024 election cycle.
What’s Next
The case returns to the lower court for further proceedings. Civil rights plaintiffs have argued that Alabama’s map intentionally discriminates against Black voters, a claim that may not be affected by the recent Louisiana ruling, according to Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent.
Voters in Alabama will begin casting ballots next week under the rescheduled primary election timeline. The final resolution of the legal challenge remains pending, but the state appears positioned to use its preferred map for the upcoming election cycle.