The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Black voters in Alabama on Tuesday, allowing the state to use a congressional map that eliminates one of its two majority-Black districts. The 6-3 decision, split along ideological lines with conservatives in the majority, granted an emergency request filed by Republican officials.
The map was enacted in 2023 but has never been used. A lower court had ruled that it intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The same court had also found that the map violated the Voting Rights Act.
Now, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for Alabama to use it. The question hanging over American democracy is whether this marks a turning point in the fight for voting rights — or the beginning of the end.
What the Court Said
In an unsigned three-page order, the majority said Alabama is likely to ultimately prevail on its claim that the map was lawfully drawn. The court faulted the lower court for issuing a ruling so close to the election and for not sufficiently taking into account its recent ruling in a Louisiana case that weakened the Voting Rights Act.
That Louisiana ruling, issued less than three weeks before the state planned to hold its congressional primaries, requires judges to largely defer to states’ partisan interests in drawing maps that benefit the majority party.
“Here, the District Court interposed itself into Alabama’s ongoing efforts to conduct its imminent 2026 congressional elections under maps that its elected representatives selected,” the court said. “Its view that conducting the elections under court-imposed maps would be more convenient for the State was not a valid justification for that intervention.”
The Dissent: ‘Corrodes the Rule of Law’
Justice Sonia Sotomayor did not hold back. In a blistering dissent, she said the majority’s decision “disregards both democratic values and the rule of law.”
The court could have allowed an “orderly election” using the existing map, she wrote, but instead chose a “chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians.”
The ruling also “corrodes the rule of law by rewarding Alabama’s gamesmanship and outright defiance of court orders,” Sotomayor added.
The Impact on Representation
Under the redrawn map, Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures would be likely to lose his seat. The elimination of a majority-Black district means Black voters in Alabama — who make up more than a quarter of the state’s population — will have less power to elect candidates of their choice.
The NAACP blasted Tuesday’s order. “The Supreme Court continues to unleash chaos in our democratic process, and with this latest action, gives Alabama approval to use a congressional map that had previously been found to be intentionally discriminatory,” said Kristen Clarke, the group’s general counsel.
“This is a Court that is stripping Black voters of power and voice at a speed that would put Jim Crow jurists to shame,” Clarke added. “Our message to communities remains the same — the best way to express dissent is by showing up at the ballot box this election season.”
The Broader Context
The last year has seen an unprecedented wave of fast-track redistricting kicked off by President Donald Trump’s demand that Texas redraw its map to favor Republicans. Usually, maps are drawn only once a decade following the US census.
Republicans have a narrow majority in the US House and are seeking to minimize their losses in the midterm elections in November. The Supreme Court’s Louisiana ruling sparked a frenzy among mostly Southern states to redraw maps to eliminate majority-Black districts held by Democrats.
Alabama’s primaries were originally due to take place May 19, but officials pushed them back while they raced to respond to the Supreme Court’s Louisiana ruling and restore their preferred map. The primaries are now set to take place August 11.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised the ruling. “Tonight’s decision is a major victory for Alabama and for the principle of self-governance,” he said. “The United States Supreme Court confirmed what we always knew: that Alabama’s Congressional maps are constitutional and lawful under the Voting Rights Act.”
The Bottom Line
The Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use a congressional map that eliminates a majority-Black district, siding with Republicans in a 6-3 decision. A lower court had found the map intentionally discriminated against Black voters. Justice Sotomayor said the ruling “corrodes the rule of law” and rewards “gamesmanship and outright defiance of court orders.” The NAACP said the Court is stripping Black voters of power “at a speed that would put Jim Crow jurists to shame.”
