{"id":294,"date":"2026-06-03T21:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=294"},"modified":"2026-06-03T21:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:39:41","slug":"scotus-allows-alabama-to-use-voting-map-ruled-discriminatory-by-lower-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=294","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS Allows Alabama to Use Voting Map Ruled Discriminatory by Lower Court"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read more For 25 Years, the War on Terror Has Turbocharged Surveillance and Imperialism<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday evening allowed Alabama to use a 2023 congressional map, reversing a lower court\u2019s ruling that repeatedly deemed the map racially discriminatory.<\/p>\n

In an unsigned 6-3 decision on the case known as Allen v. Milligan<\/em>, the court wrote that the lower court\u2019s map would not be \u201cmore convenient\u201d for Alabama than the congressional map the Legislature passed in 2023. <\/p>\n

\u201cHere, the District Court interposed itself into Alabama\u2019s ongoing efforts to conduct its imminent 2026 congressional elections under maps that its elected representatives selected,\u201d the justices wrote. \u201cWhile federal courts should not impose changes close to an election, states are free to decide for themselves whether last-minute changes to an election are in their best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

The order comes almost a month after the U.S. Supreme Court substantially weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in a case known as Louisiana v. Callais<\/em>, and weeks after Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session in which Republican lawmakers set special primaries for August in the expectation that the state would be allowed to use the 2023 map, which would likely cost Democrats a seat in Alabama\u2019s House delegation. <\/p>\n

Plaintiffs in the case Monday filed a 54-page brief urging the court to uphold the Northern District of Alabama District Court\u2019s May 26 ruling that the Legislature-passed congressional map denied Black Alabamians the chance to elect a candidate of their choice. <\/p>\n

The plaintiffs argued that there was no time to reassign voters under a new map; the 2023 map intentionally discriminated against Black Alabamians; and the lower court found the map still violates Section 2 after the Callais decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing has changed in Alabama or the record to warrant a different conclusion today. The Court should deny Alabama\u2019s stay motion on any one or more of these independent grounds,\u201d the stated. <\/p>\n

Justice Sonya Sotomayor, joined by justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the court\u2019s opinion and warned the decision would set a precedent of chaos.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the Court are two paths. Down one lies an orderly election, held under a tried-and-tested congressional map that protects Black Alabamians\u2019 right to vote and with which all voters, elections officials, and candidates alike are familiar. Down the other lies a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians,\u201d Sotomayor wrote. \u201cThe majority chooses the second path and disregards both democratic values and the rule of law. I respectfully dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deuel Ross, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the NAACP Legal Defence Fund, wrote in a text Tuesday evening that the decision opens the door for Alabama and others to \u201cdeliberately and openly discriminate against Black voters without fear of any consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court\u2019s shameless decision to reinstate an intentionally racially discriminatory map defies any thoughtful or consistent application of the law,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWe will continue to throw all of our resources into the fight to ensure that Alabama voters have the fair representation that they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Milligan plaintiffs said in a joint statement Tuesday evening that their fight for fair representation is not over. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen politicians are worried about staying in power, they come for Black voters first,\u201d they said. \u201cThis effort to silence our communities through an intentionally discriminatory map cannot be permitted to stand. We deserve a fair shot at electing officials, regardless of party, who understand our lives and our goals, and are responsive to our concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

A three-judge panel last week upheld their previous ruling after being ordered to review the case by the Supreme Court under Callais. The panel said the map was still intentionally racially discriminatory, even though Republican lawmakers and state officials started arguing the map was drawn with partisan intent after the Callais decision. <\/p>\n

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The judges, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer, appointed by President Donald Trump; and U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, appointed to the circuit by former President Bill Clinton, wrote in the 79-page opinion that the state\u2019s argument contradicted its arguments made in 2023, and said the purpose of the 2023 map \u201cwas to distribute Black voters across districts to dilute their votes, at least in part because they are Black.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cCounsel argues mightily that the Legislature\u2019s partisan motives drove the creation of the 2023 Plan, but this enormous record contains no evidence of a partisan motive. And the only evidence on the issue cuts against one: Alabama\u2019s legislative leadership testified that overtures from national party leaders did not affect their work,\u201d the judges wrote last week.<\/p>\n

The state appealed the order, requiring the use of a \u201crace-blind\u201d map used in 2024 and in the May 19 primaries for the 2026 elections, to the Supreme Court the next day. They requested an expedited response, but Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave the plaintiffs six hours past the state\u2019s requested decision time to respond. <\/p>\n

The Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office argued that the 2023 map was drawn with partisan gain in mind, and only disobeyed the court\u2019s order to draw a remedial map to avoid racial gerrymandering. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt cannot be that the only constitutional map for the State to have drawn this redistricting cycle was one where white voters are drawn into white districts and given white representatives and Black voters \u2018drawn into \u2018Black districts\u2019 and given \u2018Black representatives,\u2019\u2019 a scheme \u2018repugnant\u2019 to the Constitution itself,\u201d the appeal application stated. <\/p>\n

Ivey called a special primary election in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th congressional districts for Aug. 11. The statewide voter rolls locked on Tuesday, meaning that election officials had less than a day to reassign voters in 14 counties whose districts will change, according to testimony from the state\u2019s election director.<\/p>\n

Following the Supreme Court\u2019s decision, the August special primary will proceed under the 2023 congressional map. Ivey on Tuesday morning extended the deadline for major parties to certify their qualified candidates to Tuesday at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s decision is a win for the people of Alabama and our elections. Alabama is doing our part to keep America strong, and I am proud our state continues to fight the fight to ensure activists do not get the final say,\u201d Ivey said in a statement Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court did not repeal Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in the Callais decision, which prohibits race-based discrimination in voting practices, but it required proof of intentional racial discrimination, a significantly higher standard than the previous one<\/p>\n

In the Callais decision, the Supreme Court ruled that racial discrimination with intent does violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but redistricting in the name of party does not. Texas, California, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia have either redistricted to give either party more guaranteed congressional seats in the 2026 midterm elections, or are in the process of doing so.<\/p>\n

Alabama\u2019s 2nd Congressional District, drawn by a court, would be the most affected; the Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) would drop from 48.7% to 39.9%. That would likely make the district, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, Republican-leaning. Figures said in a statement Tuesday night that the Supreme Court\u2019s decision set the \u201cnation back decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many people fought and sacrificed for me to have the opportunity to serve in Congress for me to just walk away. I will stay in this fight to build a better future for Alabama and a better country,\u201d he said. \u201cI will not be deterred by this coordinated effort to stack the deck for Republicans to retain power in November \u2013 and I know voters won\u2019t be deterred either. \u201d<\/p>\n

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall celebrated the ruling in a statement Tuesday night, saying that federal judges should not draw legislative maps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court\u2019s decision to stay the district court\u2019s injunction affirms that Alabama\u2019s elected representatives, not federal judges, have the primary authority to draw the maps under which Alabamians choose their own leaders,\u201d he said. \u201cThe high court agreed that Alabamians should elect their representatives under the map chosen through their democratic process. And we will not allow unelected judges to repeatedly redraw our state\u2019s electoral maps in defiance of the Supreme Court\u2019s own standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen politicians are worried about staying in power, they come for Black voters first,\u201d the plaintiffs said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSCOTUS Allows Alabama to Use Voting Map Ruled Discriminatory by Lower Court - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=294\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SCOTUS Allows Alabama to Use Voting Map Ruled Discriminatory by Lower Court - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhen politicians are worried about staying in power, they come for Black voters first,\u201d the plaintiffs said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=294\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T21:39:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"SCOTUS Allows Alabama to Use Voting Map Ruled Discriminatory by Lower Court\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T21:39:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294\"},\"wordCount\":1443,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/75978852a0660d26726f93c5cfe1666c.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=294\",\"name\":\"SCOTUS Allows Alabama to Use Voting Map Ruled Discriminatory by Lower Court - 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