Alabama must redraw its Congressional Map after a federal court threw out the map they initially submitted, which they said violated the Voting Rights Act.
On Monday (January 24) a three-judge panel ordered the Republican-controlled state legislature to redraw its Congressional map to match the state’s demographics and has two different Congressional districts that each have a substantial amount of Black voters.
The judges –– two of whom were appointed by Donald Trump, and the other appointed by Bill Clinton –– said the current map violated federal voting rights because there was only one seat where Black voters make up the majority in that district.
“Black voters have less opportunity than Alabamians to elect candidates of their choice to Congress,” the ruling states, per CBS News. “Any remedial plan will need to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something close to it.”
Black people make up 26.7% of the Alabama’s population –– and 34% of the state’s entire population increase in the last ten years.
News of Alabama’s court order comes just after a federal court in Ohio had to make a similar ruling because of gerrymandering. North Carolina‘s State Supreme Court is set to hear a case on a similar matter next month.
All of this follows the US Senate’s failure to pass two key pieces of federal voting rights legislation as the nations gears up for a contentious midterm election season this fall.
Voting rights advocates across the country have already started fighting back against the dozens of elections restriction laws put in place following the 2020 Election.
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