Judges review new Alabama congressional map

A panel of three federal judges on Monday began reviewing the state’s new boundaries for its congressional districts. The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that Alabama’s congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act by underrepresenting black voters. The court said the state, in which more than 25 percent of the population was black at the time of the 2020 census, should redraw district boundaries with at least two districts in which black voters are at or near the majority. Lawmakers last month passed a map featuring one district that is majority black and another that is about 39 percent black.

What is at stake with the new map? The new district boundaries could have far-reaching implications for which political party controls the U.S. House of Representatives. Opponents of the new plan say it still does not give black voters equal opportunities to elect their preferred candidate. The state argued the map avoids splitting communities and complies with the Voting Rights Act. 

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about a gerrymandered congressional map in North Carolina.