Alabama’s congressional map has been in a state of uncertainty since June, when the Supreme Court determined that it violated civil rights laws and diminished the voting power of Black citizens. Now, a panel of federal judges will determine whether the Republican supermajority’s new map, hastily drawn last month, meets the court’s requirement to create a second majority-Black district or something similar.
In the new map, Republicans chose to increase the percentage of Black voters in one of the state’s majority-white congressional districts from 30 to 40 percent, disregarding objections from Democrats and Black residents. The outcome of the decision regarding the new map could have national implications, as Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. If the court rejects the map, a second majority-Black district would likely elect a Democrat, as most Black voters in Alabama support Democratic candidates.
Now, let’s explore the history and context of this issue.
After each census, states must reconfigure their congressional and state legislative districts to account for changes in population. These new districts remain in place for a decade and can significantly impact the balance of power in the statehouse and the House of Representatives. Following the 2020 census, which revealed that over a quarter of Alabama’s residents were Black, lawmakers maintained a map with only one majority-Black district, represented by a Black Democrat named Terri Sewell. The state’s other six districts have been represented by white Republicans since 2011. Some Black voters in the state challenged this map, arguing that it violated the Voting Rights Act and marginalized their voting power.
Alabama has a troubling history of disregarding federal voting and civil rights laws until compelled by litigation and the courts to comply. The existing majority-Black district in Alabama was established in 1992 after a lawsuit. In early January 2022, a panel of three judges from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama rejected the congressional map and ordered the creation of a new one that would allow Black voters a meaningful opportunity to elect a representative of their choice. The judges specified that the new map should include a second district with a majority of Black voters or something close to it.
Alabama appealed the decision, and while the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case, they allowed the new map to take effect for the 2022 midterm elections due to the timing of the lower court ruling. This case was seen as a test for the remaining core elements of the Voting Rights Act, which was partially weakened by a 2013 Supreme Court decision. In a surprising move, the court upheld Section 2 of the law in June, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or language, and ordered Alabama to redraw the map.
In response, Republican Governor Kay Ivey called a special session for the legislature to focus on redrawing the map. The group of plaintiffs who successfully challenged the map supported a new configuration that would create two majority-Black districts. Black Democrats in the statehouse proposed increasing the percentage of Black voters in a second district to nearly 50 percent, arguing that a combination of Democratic-leaning voting blocs would enable Black voters to choose their preferred candidate. However, Republicans prioritized protecting their incumbents and designed a map that kept certain counties and geographical areas intact. Their plan increased the share of Black voters in one majority-white district to around 40 percent and reduced the percentage of Black voters in the sole district held by Democrats from 55 to 51 percent. Democrats were largely excluded from the process and opposed the final map.
The panel of judges will convene in Birmingham for a hearing to determine whether the current map should remain in place. The timeline for reaching a verdict is uncertain. If the court deems a new map necessary, the responsibility for crafting it will fall to a special master and a cartographer appointed by the court. The special master, Richard Allen, is a longstanding Alabama lawyer who has worked with multiple Republican attorneys general in the state. The cartographer, David Ely, is a demographer from California who has experience in redistricting cases. The court’s ruling will have significant ramifications beyond Alabama, as several other states are facing similar redistricting challenges in the South.
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