A three-judge panel on Tuesday blocked a Republican-drawn congressional map in Alabama from going into effect, writing that the district lines “intentionally discriminated based on race in violation of the Constitution.”
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“We cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the panel of federal judges wrote.
The decision is a setback for Republicans, who sought to enact the map after a major redistricting ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month. The map would eliminate one of Alabama’s two majority-Black districts, putting the GOP in position to gain a seat in this year’s midterm elections.
Alabama is expected to appeal the ruling.
“The Legislature well knew that a plan without an additional Black-opportunity district would dilute Black Alabamians’ opportunity to participate in the political process, and it intentionally enacted that very plan,” the panel wrote. “Further, the Legislature well knew what dilutive mechanisms would prevent Black voters in Alabama’s Black Belt and Gulf Coast communities from having any opportunity to elect representatives of their choice, and the Legislature employed precisely those mechanisms.”
The state has spent years feuding with the courts over their map. After a federal court ruled
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
