HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Today, Sept. 25, marks the deadline for a special master to submit three proposals for the new Alabama congressional map to the federal court.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that found the map used in the 2022 elections likely violated the Voting Rights Act.
Governor Kay Ivey called a special session to create a new congressional map in July. Alabama legislators tried and failed to draw a map the court would accept.
Republican lawmakers refused federal judges’ directive to create a second district where Black voters would at least come close to comprising a majority.
Evan Milligan, the plaintiff from the original court ruling, said those federal judges wrote multiple times that they were “deeply troubled” by the state’s defiance.
“They seem to continue to express that they’re very distressed and confused, if not disturbed by our state officials’ conduct in relationship to the litigation around his case,” Milligan said.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has asked the Supreme Court to put the process on hold as the state appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on that request.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he sees no problem with the map created during the special session.
“The ultimate remedy is to allow the map the legislature passed in this most recent session to go into place, and that’s the remedy that we’ll seek,” Marshall said.
The outcome of this redistricting battle could determine the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives after next year’s elections.
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