Overview

• The Northern District panel unanimously ruled the legislature’s 2023 congressional map violates the Voting Rights Act and cannot be used in upcoming elections.
• Judges reinstated a court-appointed special master’s map that ensures two districts where Black voters have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidates until the next redistricting cycle after the 2030 census.
• The panel declined to reinstate the Voting Rights Act’s preclearance requirement, meaning post-2030 maps can be drawn without prior federal approval.
• The special master’s plan led to the election of Democrats Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures as Alabama’s first two Black U.S. representatives in 2024.
• Secretary of State Wes Allen and GOP legislators have appealed the panel’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, extending the state’s legal fight over map-drawing authority.