The Supreme Court cleared the way May 11 for Alabama to potentially scrap one of two largely black congressional districts ahead of this year’s midterm elections, handing Republicans an opportunity to pick up a seat in the battle for control of the U.S. House.
In a brief order, the court’s conservative majority vacated lower-court rulings that had blocked Alabama from using a GOP-backed 2023 congressional map with just one majority-Black district. The justices sent the cases back to a lower court for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court’s April decision that struck down Louisiana’s 2024 redistricting map – which included a second black district – as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
Alabama officials had asked the high court on an emergency basis to lift the injunctions after the Louisiana ruling. The 2023 map drawn by the Republican-led Legislature has only one district where black voters, who make up about 27% of the state’s voting-age population, form a majority. A court-drawn map used in 2024 created a second district with a substantial black population, helping elect Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.
The Supreme Court’s action does not immediately reinstate the 2023 map or redraw districts. Lower courts will now reconsider the matter, and it will be up to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to decide on any special primary if maps change. Alabama lawmakers recently passed contingency plans for new primaries in such a scenario.
The decision comes as Republicans seek to solidify their narrow majority in the House. Reverting to the 2023 lines could make it easier for the GOP to flip the seat held by Figures, potentially shifting Alabama’s delegation from 5-2 to 6-1 Republican.
Ripple effects in Mississippi
The ruling is already rippling through other Southern states with similar battles. In Mississippi, which has the highest percentage of black residents in the nation at about 38%, Republican leaders are eyeing changes to the state’s lone majority-black congressional district, which currently held by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, according to Mississippi Today.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has called a special legislative session beginning May 20, primarily focused on redrawing state Supreme Court districts after a federal judge found the existing map diluted black voting power. While no immediate Supreme Court action occurred May 11 on Mississippi’s congressional map — whose primaries already took place in March — some GOP lawmakers and state officials are pushing to redraw the four-district congressional map to potentially eliminate or weaken Thompson’s District 2, which could create a 4-0 Republican delegation.