Supreme Court Allows Alabama’s Redrawn House Map

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court approved a revised House map for Alabama, which grants one additional seat to Republicans after a lower court had previously blocked it.

This decision builds on a 6-3 unsigned ruling from April in the case of Louisiana v. Curry, which notably weakened elements of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Court argued that a district court’s ruling in May, which deemed Alabama’s Republican-leaning maps as “discriminatory on the basis of race,” was inconsistent with the Curry decision.

The original map faced a blockade from a lower court in April. Following this, Alabama sought intervention from the Supreme Court, which issued a brief letter requesting the district court to reassess its position. The district court, however, maintained its earlier stance, prompting Alabama to escalate the matter once more to the Supreme Court.

The district court had contended that the new congressional map “violated the Voting Rights Act” due to featuring only one majority-black district, without any additional districts. In contrast, the Supreme Court characterized the ruling as an oversight, emphasizing that a mere difference in voting patterns along racial lines does not inherently indicate a racially polarized voting pattern.

Since 2011, Alabama’s House delegation has consisted of six Republicans and one Democrat, Congressman Terry Sewell, who represents a majority-black district.

Prior to the upcoming 2024 election, Alabama is redrawing its congressional maps in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan, which mandated the state to add more districts favoring Democratic representation with a significant population of black voters.