Southern states compete to redraw district maps after SCOTUS ruling
The Supreme Court’s decision was divided along conservative and liberal lines and effectively invalidated Section 2 of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
WASHINGTON – Alabama asked the U.S. Supreme Court on May 8 to allow Republican-led states to impose new congressional maps for this year’s midterm elections, the latest aggressive move by Southern states to take advantage of the court’s recent rulings weakening Voting Rights Act protections for minorities.
State officials said in an emergency filing that the high court’s decision on Louisiana’s congressional map should eliminate the need for Alabama to use a map that includes second-majority black districts to comply with civil rights laws.
“The Alabama case mirrors the Louisiana case and should have the same outcome. This year’s elections will be drawn based on legitimate policy goals, not race,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in the state’s appeal. He asked for sentencing by May 14.
The state has been ordered by a lower court to preserve the maps until after the 2030 census.
The Alabama Legislature on May 8 approved new maps that could be used in special primaries if the court order is lifted.
This would make it even more likely that Republicans would retain their slim majority in the US House of Representatives.
Louisiana and Tennessee are also looking to take advantage of weakened civil rights laws to use Republican-friendly congressional maps as early as this year.
Historically, midterm elections do not bode well for the party in the White House. However, the past intermediate years have not been subjected to the intense last-minute mapping that has occurred in this cycle.
Meanwhile, Democrats suffered a setback on May 8 when the Virginia Supreme Court overturned new voter-approved maps that would have given Democrats an advantage in the midterm elections.
Tennessee became the first state to eliminate Democratic-held seats following a high court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, with the state legislature approving a new legislative framework that would divide majority-black Memphis into three districts.
In Louisiana, Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order postponing the state’s primary election until at least July 15, or any other date set by the Republican-led state Legislature, citing an “election emergency resulting from an unconstitutional map.”
The state’s six-member delegation includes two Democrats. The map the Supreme Court invalidated included two majority-black seats, and Republicans hope to reduce Democrats’ advantage in at least one of them.
Contributors: Zachary Schermele and Bart Jansen.
