This Tuesday, the 2nd, the Supreme Court of the United States allowed the State of Alabama to use an electoral map that favors Republicans in this year’s legislative elections. The measure overturns last week’s decision that considered the district redesign plan to be intentionally discriminatory towards the black population.
The authorization comes after the state’s Republican leadership appealed to the American Supreme Court. This is the latest development in a wave of redistricting encouraged by President Donald Trump to try to maintain the Republican majority in the House in the November elections.
Now, Alabama can swap the current electoral map, which has two majority-black districts, for a map that has just one, giving Republicans an advantage in winning back seats.
Last week, the Federal Court of First Instance ruled that Alabama use the same electoral map as in the 2024 elections, which elected two black Democrats to Congress. The black population is the majority in two of the state’s seven congressional districts.
Last month, the Supreme Court already nullified a majority-black voting district in Louisiana and weakened the Federal Voting Rights Act. The decision prompted Republicans in several Southern states, including Alabama, to reshape congressional districts with large minority populations that elected Democrats.
The impasse in Alabama is not new. In 2023, a group of judges ruled that a map drawn up by Republican state representatives intentionally affected the vote of black citizens. The court stated that the state, where around 27% of the population is black, should have two districts where black voters are the majority. (With international agencies)
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