Alabama’s Republican-drafted congressional map was struck down on Tuesday for not creating a second district with sufficient Black representation
A three-judge panel on Tuesday unanimously struck down Alabama’s recently redrawn congressional map, finding that that the GOP-drafted plan did not comply with the Voting Rights Act as it did not create a second district in which Black voters would likely be able to elect their preferred candidate.
Court-appointed experts will now draw a new map for the 2024 elections.
Alabama is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state Legislature had passed their latest congressional map in late July, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a month earlier that the previous map violated the civil rights law.
But the revised plan only included one majority-Black district, with a second district that had less than 50% Black residents — prompting swift outcry from Democrats and advocates who said that flagrantly violated the court’s instructions.
