Alabama GOP passes new congressional map but fails to create second Black district

Alabama's Republican-run legislature passed a new congressional map on Friday after a panel of three federal judges found that the state's current map likely violated the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Black voters. The latest plan, however, is not likely to pass legal muster either, and plaintiffs have already said they plan to challenge it. As a result, the court may step in to draw its own map to be used starting in next year's elections, which could see a Black Democrat replace a white Republican in the state's House delegation.

Last year, to remedy Alabama's problematic map, the court directed lawmakers to establish a second district where Black voters would be able to elect their preferred candidate. Mindful of the state's long history of deeply polarized voting patterns—white voters heavily support Republicans while African Americans overwhelmingly back Democrats—the court explained that any replacement map would "need to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it."

While the judges didn't specify an exact proportion, Black voters make up less than 40% of the GOP's newly created 2nd District, which is centered on the southeastern part of the state. With whites still constituting a 52% majority, Donald Trump would have carried the district by a 54-45 margin in 2020. It would therefore be very difficult for the candidate preferred by Black voters to win, since that candidate would almost certainly be a Black Democrat. (The state's lone district where Black voters already make up a majority, the Birmingham-based 7th, has continuously elected Black Democrats since it took on its current form in 1992—also thanks to litigation under the VRA—and is currently represented by one, Terri Sewell.)