sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and 60s
In a 6-to-3 ruling, the Supreme Court has permitted Alabama to revive a Republican-drawn congressional map that reduces majority-Black districts from two to one, sending the matter back to lower courts under a newly weakened interpretation of the Voting Rights Act. The decision arrives on the eve of Alabama's May 19 primary, compressing the human consequences of decades-long redistricting battles into a matter of days. At its core, the case asks an enduring question: whose voices are counted, and by whose hand are the boundaries drawn that determine that count.
- A 6-to-3 Supreme Court majority has cleared the way for Alabama to use a GOP-drawn map that shrinks Black electoral power just days before a scheduled primary.
- Lower courts had twice blocked the map for likely violating the Voting Rights Act, but a recent ruling weakening that same Act has now shifted the legal ground beneath those decisions.
- Black voters in Alabama's congressional districts face the immediate prospect of diluted representation as the political math of the state's delegation hangs in the balance.
- Democratic Representative Shomari Figures warned the ruling risks reversing decades of hard-won political representation, while Justice Sotomayor cautioned it will sow confusion as voting begins.
- The case returns to district court for reconsideration, but with the primary imminent and Governor Ivey already signing enabling legislation, the window for meaningful intervention is narrowing fast.
The Supreme Court handed Alabama permission to use a Republican-drawn congressional map that reduces the state's majority-Black districts from two to one — a 6-to-3 decision that reversed lower court rulings and sent the cases back to be reconsidered under a landmark ruling issued just weeks earlier, one that significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Alabama's redistricting struggle stretches back years. After the state's Republican legislature drew new lines in 2021, the Supreme Court agreed those lines likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters' power. Lawmakers responded in 2023 with a revised map — still containing only one majority-Black district — arguing it honored traditional redistricting principles. That map was blocked again before the 2024 elections, and congressional races were held under a court-drawn remedial map instead.
The legal landscape shifted when the Court ruled last month on a parallel Louisiana case, weakening the Voting Rights Act in another 6-to-3 decision. Alabama moved quickly, seeking emergency relief to use its 2023 map for the upcoming cycle. The state's Solicitor General framed the issue as one of principle, arguing that Americans deserve governance free of what he called "racial sorting."
The timing is acute. Alabama's primary is set for May 19, and Governor Kay Ivey has already signed legislation enabling special elections in any districts affected by a boundary change. The state's current delegation — five Republicans and two Democrats — could shift if the 2023 map takes effect.
Democratic Representative Shomari Figures, who holds one of the two predominantly Black districts, called the ruling "incredibly unfortunate" and warned it risks returning Alabama to the political realities of the 1950s and 60s for Black representation. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing in dissent, argued the Court's intervention was premature and would create confusion just as voters prepare to go to the polls. The case now returns to the lower court — but the clock is already running.
On Monday, the Supreme Court handed Alabama permission to use a congressional map drawn by Republicans three years earlier—one that reduces the state's majority-Black districts from two to one. The decision, handed down in a 6-to-3 split, reversed lower court rulings that had blocked the map from being used. The justices sent the cases back to district court to be reconsidered under the light of a landmark ruling the Court had issued just weeks before, one that significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Alabama's fight over how to draw its House districts has been grinding through courts for years. In 2021, the state's Republican-controlled legislature drew new lines, but the Supreme Court agreed with a lower court that the map likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters' power. The lower court said Alabama should have two districts where Black voters could elect their preferred candidates. State lawmakers responded by drawing a new map in 2023—still with just one majority-Black district. They argued the lines followed traditional redistricting principles and minimized county splits, including in the Black Belt, a rural region named for its dark, fertile soil.
When that 2023 map faced another legal challenge, a three-judge district court panel blocked it again, this time before the 2024 elections. The Supreme Court declined to intervene at that moment, so the 2024 congressional races were held under a court-drawn remedial map instead. But Alabama officials appealed, and their case sat waiting while the Supreme Court wrestled with a separate Voting Rights Act dispute involving Louisiana. When the Court finally ruled on that Louisiana case last month—weakening the Act in a 6-to-3 decision—Alabama's path cleared. The state also asked for emergency relief to use the 2023 map for the upcoming election cycle. In its filing, Alabama's Solicitor General Barrett Bowdre argued that forcing the state to use a different map would amount to "racial sorting," and that "Americans, no less in Alabama, deserve a republic free of racial sorting now."
The timing matters. Alabama's primary is set for May 19, and Governor Kay Ivey has already signed a law authorizing special elections for any districts whose boundaries would change if the state reverts to the 2023 map. The state's current congressional delegation includes five Republicans and two Democrats. If the 2023 map takes effect, that math could shift.
Democratic Representative Shomari Figures, who represents one of Alabama's two predominantly Black districts, called the Supreme Court's decision "incredibly unfortunate." He said 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 lower court would keep the existing map in place when the case returns to it. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the three dissenters, said the Supreme Court's move to overturn the district court's decisions was "inappropriate and will cause only confusion as Alabamians begin to vote in the elections scheduled for next week." The case now goes back to the lower court to be reconsidered under the new legal landscape the Supreme Court has created.
Notable Quotes
Sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and 60s in terms of Black political representation in the state.— Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures
The move by the Supreme Court to toss out the district court's decisions is inappropriate and will cause only confusion as Alabamians begin to vote in the elections scheduled for next week.— Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in dissent
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter whether Alabama has one or two majority-Black districts?
Because a district where Black voters are the majority means they have real power to elect someone who represents their interests. With one district instead of two, that power gets cut in half. The votes of Black residents get spread thinner across other districts where they're outnumbered.
But didn't Alabama say they were just following normal redistricting rules?
That's what they claimed—that they were minimizing county splits and sticking to traditional principles. But the courts had already said once that their map diluted Black voting power. When they drew a new map that still had only one majority-Black district, the courts blocked it again. The Supreme Court's recent decision changes what counts as legal, so now Alabama gets another chance.
What does the Supreme Court's recent Voting Rights Act ruling have to do with this?
The Court weakened the Act in a separate case about Louisiana. That ruling made it harder to prove that a map discriminates against Black voters. Now Alabama's case goes back to the lower court, but under these new, weaker standards. The lower court may reach a different conclusion this time.
What happens to the people voting in Alabama right now?
That's the confusion Justice Sotomayor warned about. The primary is May 19. If the 2023 map takes effect, some districts change. The governor signed a law allowing special elections in districts with new boundaries. Voters might be voting under one map, then have to vote again under another.
Could this happen in other states?
Almost certainly. Republicans in Southern states are already looking at their own maps, trying to redraw them now that the Voting Rights Act is weaker. Alabama is just the first major test.