The Supreme Court had denied the state of Alabama's request to change its map of congressional districts for the next election. The court's ruling came Tuesday and reaffirms the initial ruling of a lower court.
Members of the Supreme Court did not comment on their decision to deny the new map that the state intended to use for the 2024 legislative elections. SCOTUS's decision matches an earlier ruling from June of this year regarding Alabama's electoral map. According to the initial decision, which the state of Alabama appealed, the southern state's black population is large and compact enough for there to be a majority-black second district.
BREAKING: In a win for voters, the U.S. Supreme Court denies Alabama's request to reinstate its illegal congressional map. The lower court will continue the process of drawing a map with two majority-Black districts as litigation moves forward. https://t.co/9NlB1uZL5g pic.twitter.com/P19NuXRqaA
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) September 26, 2023
The new map contained only one electoral district with an African-American majority, something the Supreme Court ruled as discriminatory against the black population, which comprises 27% of the state. As the Washington Examiner learned, the judges responsible for the case said that the map proposal worried them "deeply," and at no time did it satisfy the dictated legal needs.
The state of Alabama continues to fail to satisfy the conditions of the plaintiffs in this case, who ask the state to create a second district with a sufficient majority of African-American voters. Alabama has seven congressional districts.
NEW: the Supreme Court's rejection of Alabama Republicans' last-ditch request ensures that one of the three maps proposed by a court-appointed special master (all of which feature a second Black majority seat) will be adopted for 2024, netting Dems a seat. pic.twitter.com/auW41e3g9j
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) September 26, 2023
The Supreme Court's ruling favors the Democratic Party, which is projected to secure more seats in the House of Representatives thanks to its favorability among African-American voters, who would have the power to choose more representatives for Alabama. The current distribution of the Alabama congressional delegation in Washington is six Republicans and only one Democrat.
