Federal Court Blocks Alabama Plan for New Congressional Districts

Federal judges on Tuesday blocked Alabama from using a new congressional map for the November midterms, ruling that the Republican-backed plan intentionally discriminated based on race. A three-judge panel issued a preliminary injunction that keeps the state on the map used in 2024, which contains two districts where Black residents form a majority or close to it.

The panel found “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination in the 2023 state-drawn map that contained only one Black-majority district.

Background of the Case The ruling follows a U.S.

Supreme Court decision in late April in a Louisiana case that narrowed the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. After that ruling, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 map and Gov. Kay Ivey scheduled special primaries for Aug. 11 under the new lines.

The three-judge panel, which includes two judges appointed by President Donald Trump, concluded that the Louisiana decision did not change its earlier finding of unconstitutional racial discrimination. Shomari Figures, whose seat the new map was designed to make more competitive for Republicans, welcomed the decision.

“This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before this fight is settled.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state will appeal immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court. He called the blocked map “blandly unobjectionable” and said he was “disappointed, but not at all surprised” by the panel’s order.

The Alabama decision comes as several other Republican-led states consider new maps after the Louisiana ruling. Louisiana postponed its May 16 primaries, South Carolina is weighing changes to its June 9 primary, and Tennessee has already enacted a new map that splits a Black-majority district.