Alabama asks Supreme Court to allow district map favoring Republicans

May 27 (UPI) -- One day after a federal court blocked an Alabama congressional voting map that reduced the state's majority-Black voting districts to one, the state's Republicans have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the order and allow them to use the map for upcoming midterm elections.

In its decision, the lower court said the map was racially discriminatory because it cut the state's majority Black-voting districts in half. The current map has two majority-Black districts out of seven, and about 27% of the state's population is Black.

The state's request to the Supreme Court said that a stay of the order is needed so that "Alabama is not again precluded from using its legislatively enacted 2023 Plan based on a decision that defies Callais, manipulates the Purcell principle and offends the Constitution's promise of equal protection for all," CNBC reported.

The request said the state and public will face "irreparable harm" if unable to use the map, CBS News reported.

Related

• South Carolina Senate adjourns without new map, defying Trump
• Gov. Kemp calls special session to redraw Georgia's congressional map
• Mississippi governor says maps won't be redrawn before midterms
• Louisiana Senate committee OKs redistricting map losing Black district

The high court's Louisiana vs. Callais decision in April effectively gutted part of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act, which had helped ensure minority groups could elect their choice of candidates. This set off a flurry of redistricting moves meant to eliminate Democrat-led, Black-majority voting districts in many southern states. The U.S. House of Representatives has a narrow Republican majority, and President Donald Trump has been calling for states to redraw voting districts to help maintain this.

The seat that the map would do away with is held by Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat, who is up for re-election in November.

The Purcell principle is a legal doctrine stating that courts should not change election rules too close to an election.

Alabama asked the Supreme Court to rule on the case by Monday.

In Tuesday's decision, the U.S. District Court in Birmingham said that "Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination."

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump participate in a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo