Supreme Court Strikes Down Alabama’s Racist Voting Map

The Supreme Court ruled today that Alabama’s Republican-drawn congressional map violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. In a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case, the high court ordered the creation of a second district with a large Black population. https://twitter.com/AP/status/1666816473665523715 From AP News:

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in an Alabama congressional map with one majority Black seat out of seven congressional districts in a state where more than one in four residents is Black.

The current case stems from challenges to Alabama’s seven-district congressional map, which included one district in which Black voters form a large enough majority that they have the power to elect their preferred candidate.

The challengers said that one district is not enough, pointing out that overall, Alabama’s population is more than 25% Black.

Read the full report here. Related: Ohio Supreme Court Strikes Down New Redistricting Map Over Gerrymandering https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1666817093776576513 https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1666820952502710272