Judges Order Alabama to Use Congressional Map That Could Flip Seat to Democrats

Federal judges have accepted an Alabama congressional map for the 2024 elections that could flip at least one seat to the Democrats. It comes after a prolonged legal battle where previous iterations by the state’s Republican legislature were ruled unconstitutional for limiting Black voters, who make up 27 percent of the state’s population but are represented by just one of seven districts. According to CNN, the revised map potentially adds a second majority-Black district, which would help Democrats gain a congressional seat. In June, the Supreme Court said that the original map violated the Voting Rights Act and made Alabama draw up a new one, but the state’s second version was not significantly different, refraining from including a second majority-Black district. A panel of three judges denied it, leading Alabama to appeal to the Supreme Court, but it rejected the request last week. The federal judges chose a plan on Thursday created by a court-appointed official that contains a district with a 48.7 percent Black voting age population. There are similar cases related to Republican maps in Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana.