Alabama seems to have defied an order from the Supreme Court by passing a redistricting map that only included one majority black district instead of two on Friday.
The Supreme Court agreed with a lower-level federal court in its order for the state to include two districts that had largely black populations among its voting-aged residents. But the map that was agreed upon by both chambers included one majority black district and one district that was 40% black. Black districts largely vote Democrat.
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The move was criticized by state Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers, and the executive branch. Democrats claimed that the move only continued the state’s history of alleged voter suppression.
“There was never any intent in this building to comply with their court order,” state Democratic Rep. Chris England told NBC News. “There was never any intent in this building to comply with the Voting Rights Act.”
Another Democratic lawmaker said he was “ashamed” that his state disobeyed a Supreme Court ruling. But Republicans have claimed they are in fact obeying the Voting Rights Act by meeting the standards as laid out.
“We believe it does meet the Voting Rights [Act] standard because we followed all the guidelines,” state Sen. Steve Livingston, a Republican, said. “As an opportunity district, nobody knows what the definition of opportunity is. They didn’t give us [a definition].”
The redistricting battle is being watched by other states and Washington ahead of the 2024 election cycle. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) noted that he’s watching both Alabama’s battle and a similar redistricting fight in New York.
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“I’d like to know where they’re going to go and whether they’re in the process of happening,” McCarthy said. “I know the Democrats are trying very hard to redraw New York. … I think people should be very fair in this process to be able to see what’s happening. I like to know what’s going to happen out there.”
The map was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) on Friday night. However, Democrats have a chance to file objections to the map, which will be read by a court on Aug. 14.
