Supreme Court allows Alabama to use congressional map that dilutes Black vote

The Supreme Court on Tuesday night said it would allow the state of Alabama to use a new map for congressional districts that a lower federal court ruled was discriminatory against Black voters.

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, which would eliminate one of two majority-Black districts in Alabama, is expected to result in Republicans gaining a seat in the House of Representatives from the state in November’s midterm elections.

The decision by the Supreme Court’s six-member conservative majority was unsigned. Justice Sonia Sotomayor He wrote a dissent to the decision, joined by fellow liberal justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Republicans have a slim majority in the House of Representatives. Since last year, redistricting has been mandated in some states in an effort to preserve majorities in upcoming elections, prompting Democrats to make similar efforts in other states.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday overturned a May 26 decision by a three-judge panel. U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala.It found that the proposed 2023 state map “intentionally discriminates based on race.”

That panel had been forced to reconsider an earlier decision banning the use of the map in state elections in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

In that case, the Supreme Court found that Louisiana’s drawing of its own congressional maps was a racial gerrymander.

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