Supreme Court reinstates Republican-favored Alabama congressional districts
NPR • • nation
Key Points:
- The Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use a congressional district map favored by Republicans, overturning a lower court ruling that found the map racially discriminatory.
- The ruling results in six Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic-leaning district for Alabama's 2026 midterm elections, likely causing Democrat Shomari Figures to lose his seat.
- The controversy began in 2021 when Alabama's map included only one majority-Black district despite the state's significant Black population, leading to lawsuits citing violations of the Voting Rights Act.
- The Supreme Court's conservative majority recently weakened the Voting Rights Act, enabling Alabama to argue that having only one majority-Black district is permissible and that the map was drawn for partisan, not racial, reasons.
- The court's three liberal justices dissented, criticizing the majority for undermining democracy and ignoring precedent that courts should avoid changing election rules close to elections.