Federal court blocks Alabama GOP-backed map for 2026 midterms

A three-judge federal panel on May 26 blocked Alabama from using a 2023 congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers, ruling that the plan intentionally discriminated against black voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The blocked map could have improved Republicans’ chances of picking up a House seat in the 2026 midterms.

The unanimous decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama means the state must continue using a court-ordered remedial map with two black-majority or near-majority districts. Alabama cannot revert to the Republican-backed plan, which possessed only one such district — unless state officials win emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Ultimately, 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 ruling reads. 

According to The Hill, the panel consisted of one Clinton appointee, U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, and two Trump appointees, U.S. District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer.

The ruling is the latest action in a years-long legal battle over Alabama’s congressional districts.

After the 2020 census, Alabama adopted a map containing a single majority-black district. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower-court finding that that map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting black voting strength.

State lawmakers responded by approving a revised map that still contained only one majority-black district. A federal court rejected that plan as well and ordered the creation of a remedial map with two black opportunity districts. That map was used in the 2024 elections, helping elect Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures to Congress.

Alabama Republicans sought to reinstate their 2023 map after the Supreme Court’s April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which narrowed when states may intentionally create majority-minority districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act. In light of that decision, the Supreme Court on May 11 vacated lower-court rulings that had blocked Alabama’s 2023 map and sent the cases back to lower courts for reconsideration.

But after reconsidering the case, the panel concluded that the concerns at the heart of its earlier ruling remained unchanged, leaving Alabama’s 2023 map sidelined for now. 

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, immediately vowed to file a Supreme Court appeal. In a press release, he called the Republican map a “blandly unobjectionable” design that reflects district boundaries that have “been in place for decades.”

“This is a very fluid situation, and I will do my best to keep the people of Alabama apprised of our efforts,” he added. “Know this — in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when.”

The Alabama decision comes as redistricting fights continue across several Republican-led states, where lawmakers and courts are weighing new maps that could affect control of the House.

In South Carolina, the Republican-led Senate on May 26 rejected a push to advance a new congressional map that would have targeted the state’s single majority-black district, represented by longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn. The vote effectively ends the state’s redistricting effort for now. According to AP News, lawmakers in both parties raised concerns about changing district lines after early voting had already begun for the June 9 primary.

The proposal, backed by President Donald Trump, would have canceled the current primaries and replaced the map with one that could have shifted the state’s congressional delegation to a 7-0 Republican advantage. 

In Florida, a Tallahassee judge on May 26 allowed the state’s new Republican-friendly congressional map to stay in place, denying a request for a preliminary injunction. The map, signed by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 4, could give Republicans four additional seats among Florida’s 28 congressional districts.

After the ruling, DeSantis posted a photo of the map on X, writing, “Let’s roll!”