Alabama asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let the state use a new congressional map that would likely give Republicans six of the state’s seven U.S. House seats after a lower court blocked the plan.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Alabama has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the state to use a new congressional map that would remove one of two black-majority districts and likely strengthen Republican control of the state’s U.S. House delegation.
The request was filed May 27, one day after a three-judge federal district court panel ordered Alabama to continue using court-ordered districts from a 2024 map for U.S. House elections.
The current map divides Alabama into seven congressional districts, with Republicans holding five seats and Democrats holding two. The new map would likely give Republicans a 6–1 advantage.
Attorneys representing black voters argued that the new district lines discriminated against black residents by weakening their voting power. The federal panel agreed, ruling that the newest redistricting plan was “tainted by intentional race-based discrimination.”
The dispute centers on whether Alabama can replace the court-ordered map with a Republican-friendly plan that reduces the number of black-majority districts from two to one.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said May 26 that the state would immediately challenge the panel’s decision at the Supreme Court.
“I am disappointed, but not at all surprised, that the three-judge panel has again struck down Alabama’s blandly unobjectionable congressional map that has been in place for decades,” Marshall said in a statement.
The Supreme Court request places Alabama’s congressional districts back before the nation’s highest court as the state seeks to use its preferred map for upcoming elections. The outcome could determine whether Alabama voters cast ballots under the court-ordered 2024 map or under a new plan expected to give Republicans a larger advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.
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