Supreme Court Halts Alabama Maps Order With 2 Black Districts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday halted a court order requiring Alabama to use maps with two largely Black congressional districts, setting up a possible change before this year’s midterm elections. The justices sent the case back to a lower court to reconsider the map dispute in light of an April ruling that struck down a majority-Black district in Louisiana.

Alabama officials had asked the court to end the order that kept the state on a court-imposed House map until after the 2030 census. The lower court’s review could let Alabama use a 2023 map approved by the Republican-led legislature that contains only one district where Black residents make up a majority.

Marshall on Alabama maps

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state’s long-held position had been vindicated. “Today, the Supreme Court vindicated the state’s long-held position,” he said in a video statement after the Monday action.

Marshall added that, “Now, the power to draw Alabama’s maps goes back to the people’s elected representatives. That’s our Legislature,” and said his job was “to put the legislature in the best possible legal position to draw a congressional map that favors Republicans seven-to-zero.” He ended the statement with, “Stay tuned.”

Ledbetter and the primary change

Republican House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter called the ruling “a massive victory not just for Alabama, but for conservatives.” The state recently enacted a law allowing it to void the results of a May 19 primary for some congressional districts and hold a new primary under revised district boundaries.

That step gives Alabama room to adjust district lines before the primary cycle moves forward again, while the Supreme Court’s decision gives the state another chance to argue for a map with one majority-Black district rather than two largely Black districts. The dispute now returns to a lower court, where the Louisiana ruling will shape how the Alabama map challenge is reconsidered.