BREAKING: Supreme Court allows Alabama Republicans to proceed with new congressional maps

The Supreme Court has just ruled in a 5-4 vote that Alabama Republicans can go ahead with their congressional redistricting plan, despite it being blocked by a lower court.

Justice John Roberts, of course, joined the liberals on the court:

Here’s more from NBC News:

In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama to use its new congressional district map even though a lower court said it violated the Voting Rights Act by denying Black voters a new district.

The court granted a request from Alabama Republicans to put a hold on the lower court ruling.

The case — the first to reach the Supreme Court involving the redrawing of political boundaries with 2020 census results — could affect redistricting in other states that experienced gains in minority populations.

The Supreme Court also said it would hear Alabama’s challenge to the lower court ruling that declared the maps void. That appeal will not likely be heard until the court’s new term begins in the fall. As a practical matter, the court’s action allows Alabama Republicans to use their map for this year’s elections.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the three liberal justices in saying the Supreme Court should not have put the lower court ruling on hold.

This is great news from the high court. The case hasn’t been officially tried yet, but hopefully this is some indication of how the courts will rule in the future.

Here’s more on the details:

In drawing Alabama’s new map, the Republican-controlled legislature maintained a single district in which Black voters are the majority — the seventh, which includes Birmingham and several counties along the state’s western border. In response to lawsuits, a panel of three federal judges said the map should add a second district “in which Black voters comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it.”

The panel, which included one judge appointed by Bill Clinton and two appointed by Donald Trump, said Black voters had less opportunity to elect their candidates of their choice to Congress.

An emergency application to the Supreme Court filed by Alabama Republican officials said drawing two minority districts would actually force the state to violate federal law.

“It will result in a map that can be drawn only by placing race first above race-neutral districting criterial, sorting and splitting voters across the state on the basis of race alone,” they said.

Get ready for more screaming by liberals wanting to pack the court after this decision. It’s coming.


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