The supreme court’s decision on Thursday upholding a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act could upend congressional maps across several southern US states, a change that is likely to boost Democrats’ chances in 2024 House races and give Black voters more opportunities to elect candidates of their choice.
The court’s surprise 5-4 ruling means that Alabama will have to redraw its congressional map to add another district where Black voters comprise a majority of the district’s voting age population. Under the Republican plan rejected by the court, Black voters have a majority in just one of the state’s seven congressional districts, despite representing about a quarter of the state’s population. That is the only congressional district in the state represented by a Democrat.
