The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama Republicans to pursue a new congressional map. The move could eliminate one of the state’s two black-majority House districts before the 2026 midterm elections.
In a 6-3 decision, the court threw out lower court rulings that required Alabama to use a congressional map with two black-majority districts. The unsigned ruling told lower courts to reconsider the case after the Supreme Court’s recent decision in a Louisiana redistricting dispute.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that race-based congressional districts face a higher legal standard under the Voting Rights Act. The decision has already sparked redistricting efforts in several Republican-led states.
Alabama officials argued the Louisiana ruling justified ending the court order blocking the state from using its older 2023 map. That map contains only one black-majority district.
The ruling is expected to help Republicans in Alabama. It could make it easier for the GOP to flip one of the two Democratic-held House seats in the state.
Lawmakers in Alabama have already passed legislation that could delay congressional primaries. The delay would happen if the state moves forward with the older map.
The decision could also allow Alabama Republicans to draw a new map designed to improve GOP chances in future elections.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented alongside Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor warned the decision would create confusion as Alabama voters prepare for upcoming elections.
“The Court today unceremoniously discards the District Court’s meticulously documented and supported discriminatory-intent finding,” Sotomayor wrote in the dissent.
The Alabama case is part of a larger national fight over congressional redistricting. Republican-led states including Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi are now moving to redraw maps after the Supreme Court narrowed racial gerrymandering claims under the Voting Rights Act.
Democrats have also pushed mid-cycle redistricting efforts in states such as Virginia and California. However, Democrats faced a setback last week after the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a proposed congressional redraw backed by state Democrats.