Overview
- A unanimous three-judge federal panel on Tuesday again barred Alabama from using its 2023 Republican-drawn congressional plan after finding the map intentionally diluted Black voting strength.
- The court ordered Secretary of State Wes Allen to administer 2026 House contests under the court-drawn map used in 2024, which provides two Black-majority or near-majority districts, unless the Legislature adopts a different plan.
- Alabama filed emergency petitions with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a stay, arguing the high court’s recent Louisiana v. Callais decision, the Purcell principle about last-minute election changes, and election disruption justify immediate relief.
- The panel based its finding on specific legislative actions it called unusual, including written 'non-negotiable' findings to keep Gulf Coast counties together and a lack of evidence that partisan goals, rather than race, drove the map.
- The dispute puts one House seat at stake in an otherwise narrow Republican majority, has prompted special primaries for four districts and broader legal fights as other Southern states try to redraw lines after Callais.