Overview

• U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco found the Montgomery-area Senate lines violate the Voting Rights Act and directed creation of an additional majority-Black or near-majority district.
• The state is blocked from using the current map in the 2026 elections, and the court set a rapid remedial schedule with proposals due next Wednesday and a status conference next Thursday in Birmingham.
• The court said it will implement its own map if the Legislature does not pass a compliant plan in time.
• Claims targeting Huntsville were rejected, while plaintiffs including the Alabama NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and allied civil-rights groups hailed the decision.
• State leaders said they are reviewing the opinion and could appeal, and the changes around Montgomery are not expected to alter Republicans’ lopsided control of the 35-seat Senate, which currently includes seven Black senators.