Overview
- A unanimous three‑judge federal panel reaffirmed on Tuesday that Alabama’s 2023 legislature‑drawn congressional map was intentionally discriminatory and issued a preliminary injunction barring its use in the 2026 elections.
- The court directed Secretary of State Wes Allen to continue using the court‑drawn, race‑neutral map used in 2024 for the remainder of the 2026 cycle to avoid disrupting elections already under way.
- The panel pointed to legislative documents and line‑drawing choices — including explicit findings that protected Gulf Coast county unity but omitted protections against Black vote dilution — as evidence that the 2023 plan was designed to disperse Black voters across districts.
- Alabama officials filed emergency applications with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking immediate relief to reinstate the 2023 map and asked for expedited review, while state leaders have already scheduled contingent special primaries tied to the contested lines.
- The ruling comes after the Supreme Court’s April Louisiana v. Callais decision raised the bar for Voting Rights Act challenges and forms part of a wider Republican effort to redraw maps this year that could affect control of narrowly held U.S. House seats.