A three-judge federal panel has blocked Alabama from switching to its 2023 congressional maps ahead of this year's elections, forcing the state to stick with court-drawn boundaries instead. The decision upends state efforts to implement maps that would likely flip one House seat from Democratic to Republican control.
The ruling came Tuesday after Alabama's legal team sought to resurrect the old maps following a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais. State Attorney General Steve Marshall had filed emergency motions asking the high court to lift earlier injunctions blocking the maps, but when the case returned to the three-judge panel, judges found no reason to change course.
"Our re-examination in light of Callais yields the same conclusion," the panel stated in its order.
The underlying fight centers on voting rights. Federal judges previously struck down the 2023 maps for intentionally diluting minority voting power. Alabama's maps had been redrawn under court supervision as a result. Rather than accept that outcome, state officials attempted to restore the original boundaries ahead of the general election in November.
The timing created an extra complication. Alabama's legislature had already passed bills during a special session in May calling for special primary elections on August 11 for four affected congressional districts. Those contests will now proceed using the current court-ordered maps, unless the Supreme Court intervenes once more.
The judges acknowledged the tight timeline in their decision. "We now face a critical decision on a very tight timeline," they wrote, explaining they had to choose between permitting a map "that we found (after a full trial) intentionally discriminated against Black voters" or issuing an injunction roughly two-and-a-half months before the special primaries.
The court chose to block the state's plan. "We reject in the strongest possible terms the State's attempt to finish its intentional decision to dilute minority votes with a veneer of legislative regularity," the judges wrote.
Alabama officials signaled they are not finished fighting. State Attorney General Steve Marshall and Governor Kay Ivey both vowed to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Secretary of State Wes Allen, filing a statement in his official capacity, said he "strongly disagree(s) with the lower Court's decision" and expressed hope that an appeal "as soon as possible" would succeed.
The special August primaries will proceed under the court-ordered boundaries unless the Supreme Court acts again. That outcome represents a significant setback for state Republican leadership, which had hoped to secure an additional House seat before voters head to the polls in the fall.
Author James Rodriguez: "Alabama's legal battle over congressional maps exposes the bitter reality of voting rights litigation in America: even after courts find intentional discrimination, the fight never truly ends."
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