A lower court threw out the state’s map drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature, which gave Black voters a significant chance to elect a candidate in only one of the state’s seven congressional districts, even though African Americans make up more than a quarter of the state’s population.
But the Supreme Court stepped in, ordering that this fall’s elections will take place under the legislature’s map, and then later accepted the case for full briefing and argument.
Civil rights leaders fear the court will weaken federal protections about redistricting decisions that disadvantage minority communities. But Alabama, joined by other Republican-led states, says the Constitution forbids an extended consideration of race in drawing voting districts.
