SCOTUS order could pave way for redrawn voting maps in GA, other states
Court denies Alabama appeal in redistricting case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an appeal from Alabama officials in a redistricting dispute, likely clearing the way for redrawn voting maps in several southern states — including Georgia — ahead of the 2024 election.
The Justices last term ruled 5-4 that Alabama’s 2021 congressional map ran afoul of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act by failing to allow African-American voters an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing. The decision upheld a lower court ruling, which had ordered the state to draw an additional majority-Black congressional district, “or something quite close to it.”
Black Alabamians, despite making up more than a quarter of the state’s population, have for years been relegated to just one of the state’s seven congressional districts. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D), who is Black, currently represents that district.
The state’s Republican-dominated legislature convened in a special session last July, theoretically to draw a new map under the court’s guidelines. But lawmakers again passed a map with just one majority-Black district in shocking defiance of the high court.
Federal judges quickly rebuked legislators for not following the court’s order to draw a map with two majority-Black districts. They then assigned the entire matter to an outside party, even as Alabama officials were urging the Supreme Court to revisit the ruling that had sent them back to the drawing board in the first place.
The Justices this week denied Alabama’s appeal, essentially guaranteeing that Alabama will elect a second Black, and likely Democratic, member of Congress next year.
In an unsigned, one-sentence order, the court said:
"The application for stay presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied."
There was no noted dissent in the order.
This new development will not only have ramifications for Alabama but several states across the south where lawsuits threaten to undo Republican-crafted voting maps, from Texas all the way to South Carolina.
Right here in Georgia, arguments in federal court concluded this month in a lawsuit seeking the redrawing of the Peach State’s 14 congressional districts. More specifically, plaintiffs say that legislators added more white voters to suburban District 6 so that U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Marietta), who is Black, would not be a viable candidate there.
McBath would end up running for re-election in a different district, ousting a fellow Democratic lawmaker in order to remain in Congress. Republicans, as expected, easily won back District 6 — shifting the congressional contingent to a lopsided nine Republicans and five Democrats in a state that regularly hosts competitive statewide elections.
But political and legal experts are widely anticipating that the map will be struck down. The judge who is hearing the case has expressed sympathy for many of the plaintiffs’ arguments. And this week’s Supreme Court order is an indication that the Justices are not eager to revisit the overall issue, at least not right now.
Candidates are already quietly prepping to run for a redrawn 6th district if it becomes more competitive. McBath, who still lives in the district, could try to reclaim a more favorable 6th. Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson kicked off a bid this month. Several state legislators and local officials could also be in the mix.