Supreme Court halts order for Alabama to use US House map with 2 largely Black districts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday laid the groundwork for Alabama to get rid of one of its two majority-Black congressional districts before this year’s midterm elections, creating an opportunity for Republicans. win an additional US House of Representatives seat in a partisan battle for control of the closely divided chamber.
The decision is as follows: a Supreme Court decision In April, Louisiana’s majority-Black U.S. House district was struck down as an unconstitutional racist gerrymander, significantly weakening a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Alabama officials had cited the Louisiana case as the reason the Supreme Court ended a judicial order that a court-imposed House map be used until after the 2030 census. The high court reversed that decision and instructed the lower court to reconsider the case in light of the Louisiana decision. That would allow the state to use a map approved by the Republican-led legislature in 2023 that includes a single district with a majority of black residents.
Alabama officials who predict the court will return soon passed a law It allows for some congressional districts to void the results of the May 19 primary and instead hold a new primary under revised district lines. It’s up to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to set a special primary election date, but that election must be held by August.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissenting from Monday’s summary judgment, said the Louisiana case reversed only one of the reasons the Alabama case was decided. Although the Voting Rights Act violation has been eliminated, Sotomayor said a lower court could find that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the 14th Amendment.
The decision was a setback for Black residents and groups who had been fighting a legal battle for several years to gain a second Alabama congressional district where Black voters had the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.
Evan Milligan, the lead plaintiff in the Alabama congressional case, said Monday that he was disappointed in the decision but added that it could be a “call to action” for voters.
“We didn’t lose to that,” Milligan said.
Alabama is one of several states seeking to change congressional district boundaries before the November election as part of a nationwide campaign. redistricting battle So far the Republicans have won.
Voting districts are usually redrawn every ten years, immediately after the census, to account for population changes. But President Donald Trump He called on Texas Republicans Last year, they rearranged congressional districts to their advantage in an effort to retain a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in midterm elections.
Democrats in california responded with redistricting of its own. And numerous Republican-led states followed suit. The high court’s Louisiana decision provided fuel for Republicans to intensify their redistricting efforts.
So far, Republicans think they can win 14 more seats in the November elections from new districts taking effect in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Democrats think they can win six more seats in the new districts of California and Utah. However, the Democrats suffered a major defeat. Supreme Court of Virginia did not overturn a voter-approved decision redistricting amendment This could have given the party four more seats.
___
Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri, and Chandler from Montgomery, Alabama.
