Claim they are fighting 'race-based discrimination' with their soon-to-be appealed order
The Hill presents one and a half hours of live, real-time primary night coverage, diving deep into the 2026 Texas runoff elections Tuesday from 8-9:30 p.m. EDT. The Hill’s coverage will be anchored by “Sunrise on The Hill’s” Cory Smith, joined by The Hill Sunday host and political editor Chris Stirewalt, with further contributions from “Rising”…
Alabama is likely to appeal the ruling, which stops an effort to use a new congressional map that would likely cost Democrats a majority-Black district.
A federal three-judge panel has once again blocked Alabama from using its 2023 congressional map, ordering the state to use a race-blind court-drawn plan for its 2026 elections — and pulling no punches about why.In a 102-page ruling filed Tuesday, Judges Stanley Marcus, Anna Manasco, and Terry Moorer found that the Alabama Legislature "doubled down on racially discriminatory vote dilution" when it passed its 2023 redistricting plan — and did so deliberately."We again cannot understand the 2023 Plan as anything other than intentionally discriminatory," the judges wrote.The court ordered Secretary of State Wes Allen to administer Alabama's remaining 2026 congressional elections — including August special primaries — using the "Special Master Plan," a race-blind map previously imposed by the court that created a second district where Black voters have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.The ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the court's earlier permanent injunction and ordered the panel to reconsider in light of Louisiana v. Callais, an April 2026 decision that raised the bar for Voting Rights Act claims. The three-judge panel concluded that Alabama still loses under the new standard — both on constitutional and statutory grounds.The judges found zero evidence that the legislature acted for partisan reasons and rejected the state's attempt to use Callais as a shield. "Alabama cannot use Callais to legitimize its pre-Callais decision to double down on the discriminatory vote dilution that we and the Supreme Court found," they wrote.The court also cited the chaos that would result from forcing a map switch now. Alabama's elections director testified it would take a "Herculean effort" to redistrict voters in just seven days — a process that normally takes months.Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, a Greensboro Democrat and plaintiff in the case, had warned the legislature it was on the wrong side of the law. "We're definitely going to be filing actions in the state constitution," Singleton said after the legislature passed its special primary election law last month.The court denied a stay, but Alabama was expected to appeal immediately to the Supreme Court.
The panel had been ordered to review its decision on the map after a recent SCOTUS ruling gutted the Voting Rights Act.
A panel of federal judges blocked Alabama from using a GOP-drawn congressional map that would eliminate one of the state’s majority-Black districts. NBC News’ Gary Grumbach reports on how the case could soon be decided by the Supreme Court.
US and Iranian forces clashed near the Strait of Hormuz overnight, even as they tout progress toward an interim peace deal. (Source: Bloomberg)
Florida sought to sue Washington and California for allegedly issuing commercial driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.
The US will reduce the number of aircraft and warships available to NATO allies during times of crisis, according to a new report.