U.S. Supreme Court – Fall 2022 (public domain)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.
BREAKING: In a surprise ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Black voters in a redistricting case and says Alabama likely violated the Voting Rights Act. The justices ordered the creation of a new, mostly Black congressional district in Alabama. https://t.co/0LLFexU9GL
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 8, 2023
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
Here's the Alabama congressional map that was struck down today.
It packs African American residents from Birmingham to Montgomery to Tuscaloosa to Selma into one single district (=everything that's blue on this map). pic.twitter.com/AJ8WDuRPnU
— Taniel (@Taniel) June 8, 2023
Breaking News: The Supreme Court, in a surprise decision, ruled that Alabama diluted the power of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case. The map left a single district in which Black voters — 27% of the voting-age population — were a majority. https://t.co/0kl1Va8jkT pic.twitter.com/daMJd85wWG
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 8, 2023