The United States Supreme Court has struck down a newly drawn majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana.
That may feel a little like the reverse of what we've seen happen in Alabama over the past couple years. And everybody is suddenly on the edge of their easy chairs over how this might affect us.
First, the case. Louisiana vs. Callais was a challenge to a district that was redrawn to satisfy a court order to draw a district to favor a Black candidate.
The court was split 6-3 with the conservative majority winning out. Wrote Justice Samuel Alito for the majority:
“Allowing race to play any part in government decision-making represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context. Compliance with Section 2 (of the 1965 Voting Rights Act) thus could not justify the state’s use of race-based redistricting here. The state’s attempt to satisfy the Middle District’s ruling, although understandable, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”
Chief Justice John Roberts described the district as a “snake.”
How might the ruling affect Alabama?
Because political parties here are so strongly divided along racial lines, a slight against the Democrats also reads as a slight against Black candidates or voters. So in any gray areas of debate, a district map that heavily favors Republicans is open for criticism not just as politically unfair but as a district map that disenfranchises Black people. And so Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has given the Democrats another arrow in their quiver to use in court.
That is, until this week. If race can't be considered, it might mean the Democrats' quiver is a little lighter.
Alabama 2 was redrawn to create a majority or near-majority-minority district that would give the Democrats a second seat in Congress. But now, with it possibly back on the table, Alabama Republicans are licking their chops.
Attorney General Steve Marshall, who handled challenges during the previous legal wrangling, wants the state to act as quickly as possible. Former Congressman Mo Brooks called it “political malpractice” for the governor or the Legislature not to act.
Still, Gov. Kay Ivey, while praising the high court's decision, said she won't be calling a special session to try to revert to a GOP-led Alabama 2.
Congressional maps are redrawn every 10 years, so whether or not Republicans move to challenge the current districting sooner, there will be another look given in 2030.