Overview
- The Supreme Court issued an unsigned emergency order on Tuesday that stayed a three‑judge panel’s injunction and allowed Alabama to implement the legislature’s 2023 congressional map for the 2026 elections.
- The three‑judge federal panel had recently found the 2023 map intentionally discriminated against Black voters and blocked its use after concluding the plan diluted Black voting power.
- Gov. Kay Ivey has scheduled special primaries for Aug. 11 to run under the reinstated map and the change will force officials to reassign large numbers of voters with Justice Sonia Sotomayor warning about chaotic voter confusion and noting about 600,000 voters in especially affected split counties.
- The reinstated plan reduces the number of majority‑Black or near‑majority districts from two to one, a shift that threatens Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures’ seat and could give Republicans an additional House opportunity in November.
- The order reflects the Supreme Court’s April Callais ruling that raised the bar for Section 2 Voting Rights Act claims and may encourage more mid‑decade redraws even as civil‑rights groups vow continued legal challenges.