The Supreme Court just gave Alabama the green light to use a congressional map that helps Republicans in this year’s upcoming midterm elections. The decision blocked a lower court’s prior ruling that said the state must use a previous map after attorneys representing Black voters argued the planned map was intentionally discriminatory against them.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the majority, and Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined.
In her dissent, Sotomayor said: “Before the Court are two paths. Down one lies an orderly election, held under a tried-and-tested congressional map that protects Black Alabamians’ right to vote and with which all voters, elections officials, and candidates alike are familiar. Down the other lies a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians, that Alabama adopted in unashamed defiance of a prior court order directly affirmed by this Court, and that will require officials to change the voter registrations of hundreds of thousands of voters in just days at best, a task that Alabama previously represented would take months. The majority chooses the second path and disregards both democratic values and the rule of law. I respectfully dissent.”
In her conclusion, Sotomayor said in part that “the Court today doubles down on chaos” with its ruling.
What To Know
Numerous states have also broached the issue of redistricting, Republican and Democratic-led alike. The efforts have occurred in places like Texas, California, Utah, Missouri, Florida and North Carolina, as those states have secured victories in implementing new maps.
According to the Associated Press, the lower court’s earlier ruling ordered Alabama to use a court-drawn map from 2024 that sent two Black Democrats to Congress.
Deuel Ross, director of litigation at the Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement sent to Newsweek on Tuesday night, “The Supreme Court’s decision gives cover to Alabama and others to deliberately and openly discriminate against Black voters without fear of any consequence.” Ross added, “The Court’s shameless decision to reinstate a racially discriminatory map defies any thoughtful or consistent application of the law. We will continue to throw all of our resources into the fight to ensure that Alabama voters have the fair representation that they deserve in Congress.”
This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
Read the full article here
