Federal Judges Block Alabama's Republican-Drawn Congressional Map

A federal panel has blocked Alabama from using its newly drawn congressional map, ruling Tuesday that the district lines intentionally discriminate based on race in violation of the Constitution.

"We cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination," the three judges wrote in their decision.

The map, drawn by Republicans, would have eliminated one of Alabama's two majority-minority congressional districts, leaving only one seat where Black voters make up a majority. A second district would have been roughly 40% Black. The ruling is a significant setback for the GOP, which had hoped the new map would position them to pick up a seat in this year's midterm elections.

The decision caps years of conflict between Alabama and the federal courts over how the state draws its congressional boundaries. The fight stretches back to a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming that Alabama must draw two districts where Black voters make up voting-age majorities, or something close to it. State Republicans drew a new map anyway, with just one majority-Black seat. Federal courts ordered them to go back and draw a second, and the legislature refused.

Alabama is expected to appeal the ruling.