Alabama Appeals Court’s Congressional Map Ruling
As previously vowed, the State of Alabama has appealed yesterday's Federal District Court ruling rejecting the use of a 2023 map for a special election in congressional districts 1,2,6 and 7 on August 11th. That map would have returned West Alabama's 7th District represnted by Democrat Congresswoman to being the only majority-minority district in the state.
Attorney General Steve Marshall filed the notice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama this morning. “I am disappointed, but not at all surprised, that the three-judge panel has again struck down Alabama’s blandly unobjectionable congressional map that has been in place for decades. I find nothing in the U.S. Supreme Court’s vacatur order of May 11 that would provide a basis for this outcome; thus, we will immediately appeal this decision to the Supreme Court," he wrote in a press release.
The judges, all appointed by Republican presidents, wrote in their opnion, that the Republican-backed plan “intentionally discriminated based on race” by including only one Black-majority district, West Alabama's 7th District. The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents compose a majority or close to it.
“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the judges wrote.
Reverting back to the GOP-friendly map would have likely eliminated Democratic U.S. Representative Shomari Figures from continuing his District 2 seat.
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