Supreme Court Lets Alabama Use 7-District Map, Cutting Black-Held Seats to 1
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 2
Supreme Court Lets Alabama Use 7-District Map, Cutting Black-Held Seats to 1
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 2
An unsigned Supreme Court order let Alabama use a new 7-district congressional map for the 2026 midterms, despite a three-judge panel’s unanimous ruling last week that it was intentionally race-based.
The map would reduce Alabama’s two Black Democratic-held House seats to one, aiding Republicans as they try to hold the chamber in November; the court acted over the dissent of its three liberal justices.
That intervention follows the court’s April 29, 6-3 Voting Rights Act decision, which raised the bar for racial-discrimination suits by requiring a strong inference of intentional bias before claims can proceed.
Alabama had voted in 2024 under a court-drawn map that produced two Black Democratic representatives, but GOP-led states including Tennessee and Florida have since moved to redraw districts after the high court’s ruling.