Stoking renewed pressure on Alabama’s redistricting process, a federal court judge ruled on Friday that Alabama’s 2021 State Senate map violates the Voting Rights Act in the Montgomery area – but not in Huntsville.
The ruling bars the state from using the current plan in future elections.
As it did in 2023, the court said the Alabama Legislature must first attempt a fix that adds one additional minority opportunity district in the Montgomery area – and made clear it will impose a map if lawmakers do not meet the court’s standard for remedy, as it also did in 2023.
U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco framed that remedy in terms of giving the GOP’s legislative supermajority the first chance to redraw under specific parameters.
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“Under the statutory framework, Supreme Court precedent, and Eleventh Circuit precedent, the appropriate remedy is a redistricting plan that includes either an additional majority-Black Senate district in the Montgomery area, or an additional district there in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a Senator of their choice,” Manasco wrote in the ruling.
“Supreme Court precedent dictates that the Legislature should have the first opportunity to draw that plan. The Legislature enjoys broad discretion (broader than the Court’s) and may consider a wide range of remedial plans.”
The court also spelled out the practical bottom line for any fix.
“As the Legislature considers such plans, it should be mindful of the practical reality… that any remedial plan will need to include an additional district in the Montgomery area in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it,” Manasco wrote.
The court rejected plaintiffs’ effort to force a second Black-opportunity district around Huntsville, ruling that it failed the law’s compactness and configuration tests.
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“The Black population in the area of District 7 is too geographically dispersed to form a voting-age majority in an additional reasonably configured district. Accordingly, the Court finds that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated a Section Two violation in the Huntsville area.”
As per today’s ruling District 7, a seat currently held by State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville), is no longer under threat of being redrawn.
The decision is also notable because the court declined to accept plaintiffs’ arguments using population data that did not originate from the U.S. Census.
The ruling tightens federal control over one part of Alabama’s State Senate map while leaving Huntsville alone, which is only half of what plaintiffs sought.
That did not stop the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among the plaintiffs, from declaring victory.
Today’s ruling is another installment in a series of Voting Rights Act cases from Alabama that began with Allen v. Milligan, the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision which challenged Alabama’s 2021 congressional map and ultimately required Alabama to draw a second minority-opportunity district.
That decision led to a court-ordered congressional map for 2024 and beyond, which resulted in the election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile).
Alabama’s appeal of the final decision in that case is still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and will be heard in the 2025-26 Court Term along with the much-anticipated Louisiana congressional redistricting case.
RELATED: Alabama AG believes SCOTUS ruling on Louisiana could affect Alabama redistricting
Various actions by the Supreme Court have led many court watchers to believe that the Louisiana case is one where the Supreme Court may significantly revise how the Voting Rights Act is applied across the country.
As for today’s ruling on State Senate maps, another hearing in the case is set for next Thursday.
In 2023, Governor Kay Ivey convened a special session of the Alabama Legislature less than 40 days after the initial ruling to address the court’s challenge.
Alabama Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro) told Yellowhammer News, “We are in receipt of the Court’s order and are in the process of reviewing it.”
“At this time, we are pleased with the Court’s ruling in the Huntsville area and disappointed by the ruling in the Montgomery area. We will determine next steps after a thorough review of the opinion in the coming days,” Livingston said.
Grayson Everett is the editor and chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
