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Federal Judges Block Alabama’s 2023 Map Citing Racial Discrimination in Voting

Federal Judges Block Alabama’s 2023 Map Citing Racial Discrimination in Voting
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A three-judge federal panel on Tuesday blocked Alabama from using its 2023 congressional map in the 2026 elections, ruling that lawmakers “intentionally discriminated based on race” when they drew districts that would dilute Black voting strength.cnn +1 The court ordered the state to stick with a remedial map that created two districts where Black voters have a real opportunity to elect their preferred candidates, at least through this year’s contests.cbsnews +1

The unanimous 79-page order, issued May 26 by Judges Anna Manasco, Terry Moorer and Stanley Marcus, rejected Alabama’s attempt to revive a Republican‑favored map just months before voters go to the polls.theguardian The 2023 map would have left only one majority‑Black district and a second at roughly 40% Black, despite earlier findings that Black residents make up more than a quarter of Alabama’s population and were entitled to two effective districts.politico +1

Why Judges Called the Map ‘Tainted by Intentional Discrimination’

The panel concluded that the Legislature redrew lines in 2023 with the purpose “to distribute Black voters across districts to dilute their votes,” emphasizing that lawmakers were well aware such a plan would weaken Black electoral power.cnbc +1 The judges stressed that, even after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, intentional racial discrimination remained unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.cnbc +1

Plaintiffs — Black voters and civil‑rights groups — leaned on a detailed record built in earlier rounds of the Allen v. Milligan litigation, including lawmakers’ own statements, demographic analyses and expert testimony to show race, not partisanship alone, drove key choices.cnbc +1 The court also cited the chaos of mid‑cycle changes: Alabama had already conducted some primaries under the remedial map, and Gov. Kay Ivey had postponed others to August 11 to accommodate the now‑blocked plan.cnn +1

A New Flashpoint in the Post–Voting Rights Act Landscape

Alabama Republicans framed the ruling as a setback in their effort to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s April 29 Callais decision, which narrowed when states must create majority‑minority districts.cbsnews Attorney General Steve Marshall vowed to “immediately appeal” and said it was only a matter of time before the state prevailed at the high court.cbsnews GOP strategists have viewed the 2023 map as a potential pickup opportunity in a closely divided U.S. House, where the remedial map helped Democrats flip the 2nd District in 2024.politico +1

Voting‑rights advocates hailed the decision as proof that courts can still police intentional racial gerrymanders despite the shrinking reach of the Voting Rights Act.nbcnews +1 They also warned that similar fights are underway in other Southern states, where legislatures moved swiftly after Callais to reduce or eliminate majority‑Black districts, creating a rolling wave of litigation that could shape the House map well beyond 2026.democracydocket +1

The Bigger Picture

The Alabama order set up an almost certain, expedited clash at the Supreme Court over how far states can go in redrawing maps in the wake of Callais, and how lower courts should distinguish partisan line‑drawing from unconstitutional racial discrimination.alabamareflector +1 With Black voters’ representation, election administration and control of Congress all in play, the case is poised to become an early test of what remains of federal voting protections more than a decade after the court first began cutting back the Voting Rights Act.