Court Blocks Alabama House Map as Unfair to Black Voters

Alabama's latest attempt to redraw its congressional map just hit a wall in federal court. A three-judge panel on Tuesday blocked the state from using the new lines in this November's elections, finding that the map intentionally disadvantaged Black voters and couldn't be rushed into place so close to Election Day, reports the New York Times. "We cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination," the judges wrote. The judges said they were "painfully aware of the gravity" of sidelining the map, but concluded the legal question was "not particularly complex or close."

The ruling means Alabama will use the same court-ordered districts as it did in 2024, notes the AP. The decision deepens uncertainty across the South, where Republican-led legislatures have been racing to revise districts after the Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the Voting Rights Act. Alabama is expected to appeal. Gov. Kay Ivey has already scheduled August special primaries in four House districts that would be reshaped under any new map, but the panel warned against adding voter confusion.