The updated map is projected to deliver Republicans an additional seat in Alabama’s congressional delegation, marking another victory for the GOP in redistricting battles taking place across the nation.<\/p>\n
The court’s six conservative justices approved Alabama’s emergency appeal challenging a lower court ruling that had blocked the map. The lower court had determined that the legislature’s 2023 map deliberately discriminated against black voters.<\/p>\n
Under the new boundaries, Republicans will gain a competitive edge in one of two congressional districts currently held by Democrats in Alabama.<\/p>\n
Justice Sonia Sotomayor<\/strong> authored a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Elena Kagan<\/strong> and Ketanji Jackson<\/strong>, warning the decision could trigger a chaotic election held under a congressional map that intentionally discriminates against black Alabama residents.<\/p>\n The high court ruled in April that Louisiana’s second black-majority congressional district, currently represented by a Democrat, constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. That decision has triggered additional redistricting actions throughout the Deep South.<\/p>\n The Louisiana decision established fresh parameters for considering race in redistricting. The court determined that majority-minority districts should only be created when the racial group in question is large and geographically concentrated, demonstrates political cohesion, and encounters bloc voting opposition from the state’s majority population.<\/p>\n Tennessee is similarly dismantling a majority-black district centered on Memphis. The retiring Democratic representative from that district, Rep. Steve Cohen<\/strong>, is white. Republican Charlotte Bergmann<\/strong>, who is black, has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed him.<\/p>\nLouisiana Precedent Reshapes Southern Redistricting<\/h2>\n
Tennessee Also Restructures Districts<\/h2>\n