The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 unsigned order Tuesday night permitting Alabama to implement a congressional map that eliminates a district held by a Black Democrat. The decision applies and expands the Court's recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The order halts lower court efforts to block the map, which a three-judge district court had found intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the 14th Amendment. Alabama can now proceed with the map for its upcoming midterms, despite ongoing primaries. Sotomayor wrote in her 14-page dissent that the intervention disregards democratic values and the rule of law. She noted the decision imports standards from Callais into constitutional claims and rewards the state's defiance of prior court orders. The ruling creates uncertainty for election administration, requiring rapid reassignment of voters in Alabama. It follows years of litigation over the state's redistricting plans.
