Three-judge federal panel says Alabama’s congressional map was intentionally designed to weaken Black voting power
SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A federal court has delivered a stunning blow to Alabama Republicans after judges blocked the state from using a controversial congressional map, which they say was intentionally designed to weaken the voting power of Black residents.
In a sharply worded ruling Tuesday, a three-judge federal panel made up of Judges Stanley Marcus, Anna Manasco, and Terry Moorer ordered Alabama to continue using the court-approved 2024 congressional map instead of the Republican-backed 2023 version lawmakers hoped would help the GOP reclaim another seat in Congress.
The judges did not hold back.
“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the panel wrote.
The ruling reignites one of the nation’s most explosive voting rights battles and places Alabama once again at the center of a national fight over race, political power, and representation in the Deep South.
At the heart of the case is Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Congressman Shomari Figures. The district was created after courts ruled Alabama had illegally diluted Black voting strength by refusing to create a second district where Black voters had a meaningful opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
Republican lawmakers later drew a new 2023 map that critics argued still weakened Black voting influence while attempting to restore Republican control.
The federal panel agreed.
Judges accused Alabama leaders of attempting to move forward with elections under a map previously found to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The court also rejected arguments that a recent Supreme Court of the United States ruling gave Alabama permission to revive the map.
“We reject in the strongest possible terms the State’s attempt to finish its intentional decision to dilute minority votes with a veneer of legislative regularity,” the panel wrote.
The decision immediately threw Alabama’s election system into confusion. The state had planned to begin reassigning voters to new congressional districts the very next day, but the court halted the process before it could begin.
Judges noted that 14 Alabama counties would have been forced to reassign voters in seven days or less — something the panel suggested may have been “logistically impossible.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall immediately announced the state would appeal the ruling back to the Supreme Court.
“This is a very fluid situation,” Marshall said.
Meanwhile, Congressman Figures praised the ruling but acknowledged the legal battle is far from over.
“This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before the fight is settled,” Figures said.
The ruling now casts serious doubt on Governor Kay Ivey’s planned August special congressional elections, with possible voter reassignment chaos and renewed legal battles expected in the weeks ahead.
