Supreme Court’s Decision Could Reshape House Battlefield
By Erin Covey and Jacob Rubashkin
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning that Alabama’s congressional map violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters, and ordered the state to draw a new map — a stunning decision from a court that has weakened the law over the past decade.
Alabama’s current congressional map has only one majority-Black district, the Birmingham-based 7th District, though more than a quarter of the state’s voting-age population is Black. The 7th is also the only Alabama district represented by a Democrat, Rep. Terri Sewell. Last year, a panel of three judges (one appointed by President Bill Clinton and two appointed by President Donald Trump) had ordered the GOP-controlled state legislature to draw a map with a second district giving Black voters the ability to elect their own representative. The state appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which allowed the challenged map to be used for the 2022 elections while it assessed the case. The court was widely expected to overrule the three-judge panel’s decision.
The court’s ruling has crucial consequences in the battle for control of the U.S. House in 2024, and not only affects Alabama’s map but also maps in Louisiana and Georgia where similar lawsuits have been pursued. Because voting is so racially polarized — especially in the South — the creation of more majority-Black districts is highly likely to result in more Democratic-won seats. Democrats could have…
