Alabama on Friday refused to create a second majority-Black congressional district, a move that could defy a recent order from the U.S. Supreme Court to give minority voters a greater voice and trigger a renewed battle over the state’s political map.
Lawmakers in the Republican-dominated House and Senate instead passed a plan that would increase the percentage of Black voters from about 31% to 40% in the state’s 2nd District. The map was a compromise between plans that had percentages of 42% and 38% for the southeast Alabama district. GOP Gov. Kay Ivey quickly signed it.upheld a three-judge panel’s finding
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the map, “and the Republican politicians who supported it, would make George Wallace proud,” referring to the segregationist former Alabama governor. Republicans have been reluctant to create a Democratic-leaning district and are engaging in a high-stakes wager that the panel will accept their proposal or that the state will prevail in a second round of appeals. Republicans argued that the map meets the court’s directive and draws compact districts that comply with redistricting guidelines.
“I’m confident that we’ve done a good job. It will be up to the courts to decide whether they agree,” Reed said. Black Alabama lawmakers say it’s crucial that their constituents have a better chance of electing their choices.
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