Supreme Court rules in favor of Black voters in Alabama racial gerrymandering case

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for Black voters in Alabama challenging the state’s GOP-friendly congressional map, an important voting rights decision that could have major implications in the 2024 elections and beyond.

In a 5-4 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the high court affirmed a lower court decision that concluded the state's existing map drawn based on the 2020 census likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race. As a result, the map remains blocked from being used as litigation continues.

Following the 2020 census, Alabama created a new redistricting map for its seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Alabama currently has just one Black-majority district out of seven seats, in a statewide population that is about one-quarter Black.