Supreme Court Clears Alabama GOP Map With One Black-Majority District

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 emergency order lets Alabama use its 2023 congressional map for August special primaries and the November midterms, restoring a plan that creates only one district where Black residents form a majority. The decision narrows the reach of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act after the Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais and returns the case to a three-judge panel for further review under that precedent.

Alabama’s 2023 map, drawn by the Republican legislature, was blocked after the district court found it intentionally diluted Black voting strength in a state where Black residents make up roughly 27 percent of the population. A court-drawn alternative used in 2024 produced two districts with Black majorities or near-majorities and elected two Black Democrats. The Supreme Court vacated the injunction blocking the state map, citing the presumption of legislative good faith established in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and Abbott v. Perez.

The unsigned majority opinion stated that the district court “did not heed the presumption of legislative good faith” when it treated Alabama’s refusal to follow a vacated remedial order as proof of discriminatory intent. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, writing that the order produces “a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians.”

Governor Kay Ivey said the ruling confirms that “Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best” and scheduled the August 11 primaries under the restored map. Voting-rights groups, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU, said the decision permits deliberate dilution of Black voting power and pledged continued litigation. The map gives Republicans a realistic path to gain one additional House seat currently held by a Black Democrat.