Supreme Court Allows Alabama to Use New Congressional Map with One Majority-Black District

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Alabama to implement a new congressional map that reduces the number of majority-Black districts from two to one. The decision, issued shortly after the Court’s landmark ruling weakening key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, sends ongoing litigation over Alabama’s map back to a lower court, potentially accelerating the state’s effort to use the Republican-drawn boundaries in future elections.

The ruling was divided, with a 6-3 majority siding with Alabama. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor warned the Court’s action was “inappropriate and will cause only confusion as Alabamians begin to vote in the elections scheduled for next week.” She also noted that the state’s map may still intentionally discriminate against Black voters, a claim that might not be affected by the recent Voting Rights Act decision.

Alabama’s congressional map has been the subject of legal battles for years. After the 2020 census, the state initially drew a map with only one majority-Black district despite a Black population exceeding 25%. Civil rights plaintiffs challenged the map, and in June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by not creating a second majority-Black district. Following that ruling, Alabama enacted a new 2023 map, which again contained just one majority-Black district. This map was also blocked by a three-judge district court panel, leading to the use of a court-drawn map with two majority-Black districts in the 2024 elections, where Democrats won both seats.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision came after Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall requested expedited review following the Court’s April 29 ruling in a Louisiana case that undermined a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. That ruling made it easier for states to draw districts that dilute minority voting power.

Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation to postpone Alabama’s primary elections from May 19 and authorized special elections for districts that would be affected if the state reverted to the 2023 map. Alabama Solicitor General Barrett Bowdre argued that holding elections under the court-drawn map was “erroneous at best and unconstitutional at worst,” asserting that state officials deserve the chance to implement a map free of racial sorting.

Democratic Representative Shomari Figures, who represents one of Alabama’s two majority-Black districts, called the Supreme Court’s decision “incredibly unfortunate,” warning it “sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and 60s in terms of Black political representation in the state.” He expressed hope that the ruling would be a “temporary setback” and that the lower court would maintain the existing map.

The Supreme Court’s action marks another chapter in a protracted legal dispute over Alabama’s congressional districts, which has repeatedly reached the high court. The state’s delegation currently consists of five Republicans and two Democrats, with the 2024 elections held under the court-drawn map featuring two majority-Black districts.