The Supreme Court on Monday set aside a lower court ruling that found Alabama’s congressional map illegally and unconstitutionally discriminated against Black voters, potentially paving the way for the state to adopt a map with one less district where Black voters have an opportunity to influence the result.
The unexplained, unsigned order Monday sent the case back to a lower court and instructed the judge to reconsider the result in light of last month’s Supreme Court decision about Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. That decision invalidated a Louisiana congressional map with two Black opportunity districts.
Legislators on Friday passed a law to allow the state to delay the May 19 primary and use a congressional map it drew in 2023 for this year’s elections. The 2023 version has one Black opportunity district.
