Supreme Court lets Alabama use GOP-backed congressional map for midterms
Supreme Court clears way for new Alabama election map
According to Fox News, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision paves the way for Alabama to implement a new congressional map, giving Republicans a significant advantage. Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove details the design of the controversial second district map. UC Berkeley Law Professor John Yoo then addresses Justice Sotomayor’s dissent, which argued that the map violated the 14th Amendment by weakening the power of Black voters.
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a victory to Alabama Republicans, issuing an emergency order that the state could use a congressional map that could benefit the GOP in November’s midterm elections.
The justices agreed to Alabama’s urgent call to use a map adopted by the state legislature in 2023 that includes a single majority-Black district for this election cycle. The court’s three liberal justices dissented.
Alabama Republicans have sought to revive the previously blocked map, which was expected to give the GOP an opportunity to win an additional congressional seat by replacing the court-drawn South Alabama district that helped elect a Black Democrat with a map that includes only a majority-Black district.
The ruling comes after the Supreme Court last month vacated a lower court decision blocking Alabama’s 2023 congressional map and sent the case back for further review. But last week, a three-judge federal panel again blocked the GOP-backed map and ordered Alabama to continue using a court-drawn map that included two districts where Black voters are majorities or have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidates.
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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey attends homecoming ceremonies during halftime of the game between the South Alabama Jaguars and Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on September 13, 2025. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey celebrated the decision Tuesday evening and confirmed that Alabama’s special Aug. 11 primary will be held under the 2023 map.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed what I have said all along, which is that Alabama knows our state, our people, and our districts best,” Ivey said in a statement. he said.
“Today’s decision is a win for the people of Alabama and our elections,” he continued. “Alabama is doing our part to keep America strong, and I’m proud that our state continues to fight to ensure activists don’t have the last word.”
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President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at the National Memorial Day Celebration at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on May 26, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“See you at the ballot box on August 11!” Ivey added.
The redistricting fight comes as President Donald Trump encourages Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps following the Supreme Court’s Callais decision, which limited the use of race in congressional redistricting. Alabama argued that the lower court’s remedial map improperly elevated race over traditional districting principles, while voting rights groups argued that the state’s map weakened Black voting power.
In its unsigned majority opinion, the court wrote: “The State has also made a strong case that it has suffered irreparable harm and that equity and the public interest favor it.”
SUPREME COURT GIVES BLACK VOTERS A CHANCE TO DELIVER REAL POWER BEYOND SAFE SEATS
U.S. Supreme Court justices pose for their official photos at the Supreme Court on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
“We have repeatedly warned that lower federal courts should not “change election rules on the eve of an election,” the majority wrote. he said.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that the map discriminated against Black Alabamians.
“There are two paths before the court,” Sotomayor wrote. “What lies ahead is an orderly election that protects the right of Black Alabamians to vote and is conducted under a tried-and-tested congressional map that all voters, election officials and candidates are familiar with.”
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Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas wait to leave the stage after their inaugural ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Somodevilla/AFP chip via Getty Images)
“On the other side lies a chaotic election fought under a never-before-used congressional map that deliberately discriminates against Black Alabamians, which Alabama accepted in shameless defiance of a previous court decision upheld directly by this Court, and which would require officials to change the voter registrations of hundreds of thousands of voters in just a few days at best, a task that would take months for Alabama to do so,” he continued.
“The majority chooses the second path and disregards both democratic values and the rule of law.” he added.
The ACLU also criticized the decision, arguing that it allowed Alabama to use a racially discriminatory map.
“Today’s decision delays relief for voters who have spent years electing candidates of their choice and having equal opportunities to have their voices heard,” Davin Rosborough, deputy director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. he said.
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“We are committed to ensuring equal opportunity for our customers and Black Alabamians in Congress,” he added. “We will fight for these rights despite those who continue to move the needle and seek to roll back our nation’s progress toward fulfilling the promise of multiracial democracy.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
