Alabama pushes US Supreme Court to approve congressional map for midterms

Republicans in the southern state of Alabama have petitioned the United States Supreme Court to approve a congressional election map previously ruled to be racially discriminatory. On Wednesday, the state’s Republican leadership called on the high court to rule by Monday so that the map could be used for the 2026 midterm elections. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list Previously, in 2023, the Supreme Court had declined to reverse a lower court decision, which found that the map violated prohibitions against racial discrimination under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That law had long been one of the few limits to partisan redistricting, also known as gerrymandering. While no law currently prohibits lawmakers from redesigning congressional maps to give their parties an advantage, the Voting Rights Act included a section that bars politicians from limiting government representation based on race or minority status. But last month, in the case of Louisiana v Callais, the US Supreme Court weakened how the Voting Rights Act could be applied to redistricting cases. States like Alabama have since moved to reapply congressional maps that had previously been struck down on grounds of racial discrimination. Alabama’s redistricting push In Alabama’s case, a three-judge panel in 2023 found that the state’s Republican leadership had intentionally diminished the political strength of Black voters, who tend to lean Democratic. …