The state of Alabama is currently embroiled in a legal battle concerning its congressional map, which has been accused of diluting the voting power of Black voters. In a recent filing to the Supreme Court, Alabama requested permission to use a map it adopted in 2023 that includes only one majority-Black district, defying a lower court’s order to implement a map with two such districts. The state’s latest move seeks to overturn a federal district court decision that blocked the use of the 2023 map for allegedly discriminating against Black voters.
Alabama’s request follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down Louisiana’s congressional map. The Alabama Solicitor General, A. Barrett Bowdre, argues that the map was both “erroneously ordered at best and unconstitutional at worst,” asserting that the court’s decision should not compel the state to use the map with two majority-Black districts. Bowdre emphasizes the notion that “Americans, no less in Alabama, deserve a republic free of racial sorting.”
The ongoing dispute is part of a broader contention stemming from the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Allen v. Milligan. The court found that Alabama’s earlier congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by packing Black voters into a single district, while dispersing others in a way that diluted their electoral strength. Since then, Alabama has sought to revise its map, an endeavor complicated by federal court interventions and the recent Supreme Court decisions.
Pushing for a swift resolution, Alabama petitioned the Supreme Court to expedite the consideration of its appeals, given the impending May 19 primary election. The state argued that it closely mirrored Louisiana’s case and should have elections under districts formulated by “lawful policy goals, not race.” As Alabama awaits a decision, Justice Clarence Thomas has directed the challengers in the case to respond by May 11. More details can be accessed through the full article on SCOTUSblog.