Court rules Alabama's congressional map discriminates against Black voters

A federal trial ended with a panel of three judges ruling that Alabama's legislature violated the voting rights of black residents and intentionally silenced their political voice

This marks the third time the court has ruled against a state on this issue. This congressional map drawn by Alabama lawmakers after the 2020 census was at the heart of the case

Lawmakers drew six of Alabama's seven districts to be majority white, even though black residents make up 27 percent of the state's total population

according to the U.S. Census. The Supreme Court allowed the map in 2023

but said it's unlawful because black voters weren't given fair representation. Despite a clear order to add a second majority black district

lawmakers passed another map with only one. The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by a group of black voters and civil rights groups

including the NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries, represented by the ACLU and other

law firms. After a second trial and piles of evidence, federal judges ruled the state

intentionally ignored the law and said the map must now include two districts

Part of the ruling reads, no other Alabama congressional district has elected a black

candidate in approximately 150 years until District 2 elected Shamari Figures in 2024 under a court map that we impose after the legislature 2024 election should now be the standard for future elections

In a joint statement, the plaintiffs in the case said, this win is a testament to the dedication and persistence of many generations of black

Alabamians who pursued political equality at great cost. We stand on the shoulders of our

predecessors. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed nearly a century after the post-Civil War

constitutional amendment requiring equal ballot access to all Americans was ratified. It affirmed the right every American has to cast their vote. According to the National Archives

by the end of 1965, more than 250,000 new black voters were registered. A year later in 1966

only four southern states had less than half of their black population registered to vote

The ruling bans the map used in Alabama's 2023 election and will shape the state's congressional

districts going forward. It's unclear whether the state will appeal the latest ruling back

to the Supreme Court after it was remanded back to lower courts in 2023. For Straight Arrow News

I'm Kaylee Carey. Find the latest unbiased news right now on SAN.com or by downloading the Straight Air News mobile app today