The U.S. Supreme Court has paved the way for Alabama to adopt a new congressional map, which could leave the state with one majority-Black district. The ruling comes a little more than a week before Alabama’s primary elections on May 19.
The latest decision, known as Allen v. Caster, lifts the court’s block on Alabama’s previous congressional map, alongside any changes to the current one, until 2030. In Allen v. Milligan, the court previously ruled in 2023 that the state’s 2021 map was racially discriminatory under the Voting Rights Act and ordered Alabama to add a second Black-majority district.
The Supreme Court vacated the decisions of Allen v. Caster, Allen v. Singleton and Allen v. Milligan, sending the cases back to the lower courts for further action. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama will decide whether the 2021 map violated the Voting Rights Act, "in light of Louisiana v. Callais."
The decision comes weeks after the Supreme Court decided Louisiana v. Callais, which ruled that Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map was “illegal racial gerrymandering.” Louisiana’s map had been redrawn to create a second majority-Black district after a lower court ruled that the original map violated the Voting Rights Act.
The court’s majority opinion added that a district map must be intentionally discriminatory in order to violate the Voting Rights Act, which means that intent must be proven by voters.
On Friday, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law allowing the state to nullify the primary election on May 19 for certain districts and conduct a new primary if the courts allowed the state to use new districts in the election. The new primary date would be decided by Ivey.
Alabama legislators have faced pushback from civil rights groups during the redrawing of their congressional maps, with some protesters arguing that changes to the state Senate and congressional maps are “unconstitutional” and violate the Voting Rights Act.
Secretary of State Wes Allen released a statement on the Supreme Court's recent decision.
"Today, the Supreme Court granted my motion in a historic win for Alabama voters. The May 19 Primary Election will proceed as scheduled. My office will remain in close contact with the Governor's Office and the Attorney General's Office as this situation continues developing," Allen said in the statement. "I appreciate the hard work of Alabama's local election officials as we continue to work towards the administration of a secure, transparent and accountable election."
The proposed map would eliminate one of the two majority-Black districts in Alabama, which is currently held by Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. Figures released a statement following the Supreme Court's decision.
"This is an incredibly unfortunate decision by the Supreme Court that not only continues their trend of breaking from the norms and precedents set by the Court, but also sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and 60s in terms of Black political representation in the state. The conservative justices on the Supreme Court just literally substituted themselves in to be the defense lawyers for the State of Alabama [...]," Figures said in a statement. “This Supreme Court did not dismiss the case, so the litigation will certainly continue. My hope is that this is a temporary setback and that three Republican-appointed judges will again find what they found the first time: that the State of Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters in drawing its congressional district lines."
On May 12, Ivey released a statement on the Supreme Court's outcome.
"I will continue to say: Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best. The United States Supreme Court's decision is plain common sense and enables our values to be best represented in Congress," Ivey said. "For years, we have fought for this outcome, and I am proud to celebrate this win for Alabamians."
Ivey's statement went on to call for a special primary election on August 11 for the affected 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts.
"As I said at the close of our special session last week, Alabama now stands ready to quickly act. I thank Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and Pro Tem Garlan Gudger for their focus last week that has allowed us to be in this strong position to move forward with our 2023 Alabama-drawn congressional map," Ivey said.
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Amanda Machamer, senior in journalism, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Spring 2025. Machamer previously served as a News Writer, Assistant News Editor and Assistant Content Editor. She is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief.
Sydney Gallardo, junior in journalism, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Fall 2025. Gallardo previously served as a News Writer, News Reporter and Assistant News Editor. He is currently serving as the Newsletter Editor.
