A federal appeals court blocked a proposed GOP-friendly Alabama congressional map on Tuesday, dealing a temporary setback to Republicans’ redistricting efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Alabama Republicans sought to use a previously blocked 2023 congressional map following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling curbing the use of race in the drawing of electoral districts that helped minority communities increase their representation in Congress. Under that map, Republicans were slated to gain one electoral seat by erasing a Black-majority seat held by Democrats in the southeastern part of the state.
However, the three-judge panel said Republicans must continue to use a map that has two majority Black districts where Democrats hold significant advantages.
“Ultimately, 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 federal judges wrote. “We again cannot understand the 2023 Plan as anything other than intentionally discriminatory.”
Alabama Republicans are expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Earlier in May, the court allowed the state to proceed with the 2023 map, while sending the years-long case back to the U.S. District Court in Birmingham for reconsideration.
Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., celebrated the panel’s ruling finding that the state attempted to weaken Black voting power, which could allow him to retain his Democratic-leaning seat.
“I am pleased with the Court’s decision, but this case is still not over,” Figures said. “Although we expected the Court to reach this decision given the overwhelming evidence, we fully expect the State to immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.”
“This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before this fight is settled,” he continued.
Gov. Kay Ivey, R-Ala., has scheduled several House primaries under the contested map for Aug. 11. The rest of the Alabama primaries were held earlier in May.
Republicans’ redistricting setback comes as Trump has urged GOP-led states in the South to aggressively redraw their congressional maps to benefit the GOP, following the Supreme Court’s Callais ruling.
Tennessee Republicans drew Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., out of his Memphis-anchored district where Black voters constituted a majority earlier this month, adding the seat to the GOP column. Similar redistricting efforts are underway in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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