The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama to use a Republican-drawn congressional map that lower courts previously blocked as discriminatory, upending the state’s primary just days before the polls open.
In a brief order, the justices remanded the case to a lower court for reconsideration in light of a recent Louisiana ruling that weakened key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The move allows Alabama to potentially restore its 2023 redistricting plan, which features only one majority-Black district out of seven.
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The decision threatens to dismantle a court-ordered map used in 2024 that created two largely Black districts, a change that helped elect Democrat Shomari Figures and gave Alabama two Black representatives for the first time. Reverting to the 2023 plan could allow Republicans to reclaim a House seat in the upcoming midterms.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor called the intervention “inappropriate,” warning it would cause “only confusion” as absentee voting is already underway for the May 19 primary.
Alabama lawmakers recently passed a backup measure allowing the governor to call special primary elections in affected districts if the 2023 map is officially restored.
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