The U.S. Supreme Court is seen at dusk on May 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
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The U.S. Supreme Court intervened on Tuesday to allow Alabama to use a map that was drawn in 2023 and is expected to favor Republican candidates in this fall’s election.
Big picture view:
Responding to an emergency appeal by the state, the justices blocked a lower court’s ruling that the map discriminates against Black people. Of the seven congressional districts in Alabama, the map, which was adopted three years ago, contains only one with a majority-Black population.
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The backstory:
The state’s appeal to the high court came after a lower court ordered the state to use the same map as it did in the 2024 election. That map, in which Black residents make up a majority or near-majority of two of the congressional districts, resulted in two Black Democrats being elected to Congress.
What’s next:
As the challenges to the revised map wound through the courts, Alabama voters cast ballots in the state’s May 19 primaries. Gov. Kay Ivey has set new special primaries for August 11 in the four districts affected by the changing congressional lines.
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