The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared a path for Alabama to potentially dismantle one of its two majority-Black congressional districts ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
The move provides a significant opening for Republicans to secure an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as both parties fight for control of the narrowly divided chamber.
This development follows a precedent set by the high court in April regarding a similar case in Louisiana. In that instance, justices struck down a majority-Black district, labeling it an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
That ruling notably weakened a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act, which Alabama officials cited when asking the Supreme Court to lift a judicial order that had previously required a court-imposed map.
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In response, the Supreme Court overturned the existing order and sent the case back to a lower court for reconsideration. This shift likely allows Alabama to revert to a map designed by the Republican-led legislature in 2023, which features only one district where Black residents make up the majority of the population.
Anticipating this outcome, Alabama lawmakers recently passed legislation allowing the state to void the results of the May 19 primary for certain districts. Republican Governor Kay Ivey is now tasked with scheduling a special primary election under the revised boundaries, which must take place by August.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissent to the brief ruling, noting that while the Voting Rights Act violation may no longer apply under the new precedent, other legal challenges remain.
“Although the Voting Rights Act violation is gone,” Sotomayor wrote, a lower court could still determine that the state “intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the 14th Amendment.”
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Alabama is part of a broader national trend where states are racing to redraw congressional lines before November. While redistricting usually happens once every ten years following the census, several states have moved to adjust boundaries mid-cycle.
Currently, Republicans estimate they could gain as many as 14 seats through new maps in states like Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio. Conversely, Democrats expect to pick up roughly six seats through redistricting in California and Utah.
However, Democratic efforts faced a hurdle recently when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved amendment that could have shifted four seats in their favor.
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