Federal judges have chosen new congressional lines for Alabama, creating a second district where Black voters make up a significant portion of the electorate. This could potentially result in flipping one US House of Representatives seat from Republican to Democrat control and electing two Black Congressional representatives to Alabama’s delegation for the first time. The judges intervened as Alabama was found to have illegally diluted the voting power of Black residents and failed to rectify the violation. They then adopted a new congressional map.
Deuel Ross, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund representing the plaintiffs, stated, “It’s a historic day for Alabama. It will be the first time in which Black voters will have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in two congressional districts.” In 2021, Black voters filed a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s current plan as an illegal racial gerrymander. The US Supreme Court supported the three-judge panel’s finding that Alabama’s prior map likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The panel determined that there should be two districts where Black voters comprise the majority or are close to it.
The panel selected one of the three proposed plans by a court-appointed expert that changes the boundaries of Congressional District 2. Currently represented by Republican Rep. Barry Moore, the district will now extend westward to the Mississippi border. The percentage of Black residents within the district’s voting-age population will increase from less than one-third to 48.7%. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed her satisfaction with the new map, stating, “We’re glad to see that process result in a federal court selecting a map that allows all the people of Alabama to have their voices heard.” However, this decision is a blow to Alabama Republicans who were hesitant to create a Democratic-leaning district. They had approved a map with a 39.9% Black voting age population in Congressional District 2.
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Last month, the three-judge panel expressed their deep concern over Alabama lawmakers’ disregard for their instructions, drawing unflattering comparisons to segregationist Gov. George Wallace’s actions in 1963. The judges issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the use of the latest state-drawn plan, and adopted the new lines. They required the new map to be used in upcoming elections, as Alabama residents already voted under a map ruled illegal. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall noted that while the map will be used in 2024, the state will continue to fight in court to restore the state-drawn lines for future elections. (More from the AP here.)
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