A defiant Alabama has submitted a new congressional district map that purportedly does not comply with requirements laid down by a three-judge district court panel and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In January 2022, the district court panel invalidated the state’s seven-district map because it found that black voters had “less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect candidates of their choice to Congress” and ordered that the state submit a new map, as reported by the Associated Press.
The three-judge panel had initially instructed the state that “any remedial plan will need to include two districts in which black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close” or “an additional district in which black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice,” per Breitbart.
The case was taken up by the Supreme Court, and in a 5-4 ruling that came as somewhat of a surprise, two conservative judges — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh — sided with the court’s three liberal justices to affirm the panel’s decision and force Alabama to redraw its map.
Alabama’s Republican legislative supermajority adjusted the district lines to include more black voters in the majority-white 2nd Congressional District, going from 31% to almost 40%. The plan also adjusted down the black percentage in the state’s only majority-black district, which is represented by Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell, from roughly 55% to just over 50%, reported CNN.
Democrats are none too happy with the map the Alabama Republican supermajority drew up to comply with the court’s order. Rep. Chris England announced outside the state house that just as in the civil rights era, justice would require federal intervention.
“Alabama does what Alabama does. Ultimately, what we are hoping for, I guess, at some point, is that the federal court does what it always does to Alabama: Forces us to the right thing. Courts always have to come in and save us from ourselves,” he said, according to Breitbart.
The question during the floor debate was what constitutes an “opportunity,” according to Breitbart. Republicans claimed that the new lines give a non-Republican candidate a better chance in the 2nd District, thereby fulfilling the requirement.
“If you look at the difference at what the district was before and what the district is now, is there a greater opportunity for others to be elected there other than Republicans? I think the answer is yes,” said Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, per Breitbart.
“Your opportunity district gives you a majority-white population. … It’s not an opportunity to win. It’s an opportunity to lose,” said Democrat Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, per Breitbart.
Now the plan goes back before the three-judge panel for approval.
Depending on the outcome, appeals could take the case back to the Supreme Court, where Republicans are hopeful that Justice Kavanaugh’s only partial concurrence with the majority means he is open to reversing himself, as reported by Breitbart.
“I’m confident that we’ve done a good job. It will be up to the courts to decide whether they agree,” Reed said.
