Supreme Court rules against Alabama in high-stakes Voting Rights Act case

Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the state of Alabama in a closely watched redistricting dispute over a congressional map drawn by state lawmakers after the 2020 Census, finding the redistricting plan for the state’s seven House seats likely violated a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

In an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the high court declined to accept far-reaching arguments from Alabama Republican officials that would have made it more difficult to challenge congressional and state legislative maps that dilute the power of minority voters under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett dissented.

The court affirmed a lower court opinion that found it substantially likely that Alabama’s map violated Section 2. The three-judge district court panel Alabama from using the redistricting plan during the 2022 midterm elections and ordered Alabama state lawmakers to redraw its congressional map to include a second district that gave Black voters equal opportunity to elect their favored candidate, as required by the Voting Rights Act.

This is a developing story and will be updated.