1 year, 5 months ago

Alabama lawmakers refuse to create 2nd majority-Black congressional district

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — 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. State lawmakers faced a deadline to adopt new district lines after the Supreme Court in June upheld a three-judge panel’s finding that the current state map — with one majority-Black district out of seven in a state that is 27% Black — likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Opponents said it flouted a directive from the panel to create a second majority-Black district or “something quite close to it” so that Black voters “have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.” The 140-seat Alabama Legislature has 33 Black lawmakers. The three-judge panel ruled in 2022 that the current legislative map likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act and said any map should include two districts where “Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority” or something close.

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History of this topic

3 months, 2 weeks ago

Alabama congressional district redrawn to better represent Black voters sparks competitive race

Associated Press

TUSKEGEE, Ala. — On opposite sides of the courthouse square in Tuskegee, Alabama — a place steeped in African American history, including the city’s namesake university and World War II airmen — two opposing congressional candidates recently greeted families gathered at a county festival. Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District was redrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Alabama had likely illegally …

5 months, 1 week ago

Mississippi election officials argue against quick work on drawing new majority-Black districts

Associated Press

— Redrawing some Mississippi legislative districts in time for this November’s election is impossible because of tight deadlines to prepare ballots, state officials say in new court papers. Attorneys for the all-Republican state Board of Election Commissioners filed arguments Wednesday in response to a July 2 ruling by three federal judges who ordered the Mississippi House and Senate to reconfigure …

6 months, 3 weeks ago

US Supreme Court sends Arkansas redistricting case back to judges after South Carolina ruling

Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Monday sent a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ 2021 U.S. House map back to a three-judge panel, ordering it to review the suit in light of the high court’s decision against similar claims of bias in a redistricting case from South Carolina. A three-judge panel last year dismissed the suit, which claimed the redrawn map violated the U.S. …

7 months, 1 week ago

Supreme Court orders Louisiana to use congressional map with additional Black district in 2024 vote

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district, despite a lower-court ruling that called the map an illegal racial gerrymander. “We are very relieved that SCOTUS agreed with us that it’s too close to the election to insert uncertainty.. We will have a …

7 months, 3 weeks ago

Judges Reject Map That Would Have Given Louisiana New Majority-Black House District

Huff Post

LOADING ERROR LOADING NEW ORLEANS — A new congressional district map giving Louisiana a second majority-Black House district was rejected Tuesday by a panel of three federal judges, fueling new uncertainty about district boundaries as the state prepares for fall congressional elections. Polling takes place at the Martin Luther King Elementary School in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans …

7 months, 3 weeks ago

Louisiana won’t immediately get a new majority-Black House district after judges reject it

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — A new congressional map giving Louisiana a second majority-Black House district was rejected Tuesday by a panel of three federal judges, fueling new uncertainty about district boundaries as the state prepares for fall congressional elections. Jeff Landry and Murrill had backed the new map in a January legislative session after a different federal judge threw out a …

8 months, 1 week ago

New Black congressional district in Louisiana bows to politics, not race, backers say

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — Politics and race are both factors in a pending court challenge of Louisiana’s new congressional maps. The map creates a new mostly Black congressional district in Louisiana, at the expense of a white Republican incumbent, Rep. Garret Graves, who backed another Republican in the governor’s election last fall. Twelve self-described non-African American voters argued in a lawsuit …

8 months, 3 weeks ago

South Carolina to hold 2024 congressional elections with map previously ruled unconstitutional

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal court on Thursday ruled that this year’s congressional elections in South Carolina will be held under a map that it had already deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters, with time running out ahead of voting deadlines and a lack of a decision on the case by the Supreme Court. After South Carolina’s Legislature, which …

9 months, 4 weeks ago

Attorneys argue over whether Mississippi legislative maps dilute Black voting power

Hindustan Times

— Mississippi legislators diluted the power of Black voters by drawing too few majority-Black state House and Senate districts after the most recent Census, an attorney representing the NAACP and several residents told three federal judges Monday. HT Image But during opening arguments in a trial of the redistricting case, an attorney representing state officials told the judges that race …

9 months, 4 weeks ago

Attorneys argue over whether Mississippi legislative maps dilute Black voting power

Associated Press

— Mississippi legislators diluted the power of Black voters by drawing too few majority-Black state House and Senate districts after the most recent Census, an attorney representing the NAACP and several residents told three federal judges Monday. But during opening arguments in a trial of the redistricting case, an attorney representing state officials told the judges that race was not …

10 months, 2 weeks ago

Judge: Louisiana legislative districts dilute Black voting strength, violate the Voting Rights Act

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — New state House and Senate boundary lines drawn up by the Louisiana Legislature in 2022 dilute Black voting strength in violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act, a federal judge in Baton Rouge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick’s ruling blocked the use of the House and Senate district maps in future elections and gave the …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

A lawsuit seeks to block Louisiana’s new congressional map that has 2nd mostly Black district

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Legislature’s redrawn congressional map giving the state a second mostly Black district is being challenged by 12 self-described “non-African American” voters in a new lawsuit. The challenge filed Wednesday and assigned to a judge in Lafayette says the map, which Republican lawmakers agreed to as a result of a 2022 federal lawsuit filed in Baton …

11 months ago

After a court fight, Louisiana's new congressional map boosts Black political power

NPR

After a court fight, Louisiana's new congressional map boosts Black political power Enlarge this image toggle caption Michael Johnson/The Advocate/Pool via AP Michael Johnson/The Advocate/Pool via AP BATON ROUGE, La. A federal court had given Louisiana's legislature until Jan. 30 to redraw its map in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, forcing lawmakers to add a second majority-Black district. …

11 months ago

Louisiana lawmakers pass new congressional map with second majority-Black district

Associated Press

— The Louisiana Legislature passed a congressional map with a second majority-Black district on Friday, marking a win for Democrats and civil rights groups after a legal battle and political tug-of-war that spanned nearly two years. During the special session this week, Landry has repeatedly urged the Legislature to adopt a new map that would satisfy the court, instead of …

11 months, 1 week ago

Proposed Louisiana congressional map, with second majority-Black district, advances

Associated Press

— A proposed Louisiana congressional map with a second majority-Black district, which could deliver another U.S. House seat to Democrats, received bipartisan support and advanced through a legislative committee Tuesday. GOP state Rep. Glen Womack, who filed the legislation, said that race was not the “predominate factor” in deciding where the new boundaries would lie, but rather “politics drove this …

1 year ago

Plaintiffs in a Georgia redistricting case are asking a judge to reject new Republican-proposed maps

Associated Press

ATLANTA — The people who sued to overturn Georgia’s congressional and state legislative districts on Tuesday attacked plans that Republican state lawmakers claim cure illegal dilution of Black votes while preserving GOP power, calling them a “mockery” of federal law and a “total failure of compliance.” The three sets of plaintiffs in the case filed briefs with the federal judge …

1 year ago

In GOP’s proposed Georgia congressional map, a key question is which voters are legally protected

Associated Press

ATLANTA — A push by Georgia Republicans to maintain their congressional majority is likely to come down to a decades-old legal question that has never been settled by the U.S. Supreme Court — does federal law protect voting districts where a coalition of nonwhite voters hold sway? Lawmakers were called into special session after U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled …

1 year ago

Georgia Senate Republicans propose map with 2 new Black-majority districts

Associated Press

ATLANTA — Georgia Senate Republicans are proposing a new map that would create two Black-majority voting districts, but would probably retain Republicans’ 33-23 edge in the General Assembly’s upper chamber, in an effort to fix a map a judge said illegally dilutes Black votes. A special session on redrawing state legislative and congressional districts is scheduled to begin Wednesday after …

1 year, 1 month ago

New Alabama congressional district draws sprawling field as Democrats eye flip

Associated Press

Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election. MONTGMERY, Ala. — The creation of a Democratic-leaning congressional district in Alabama has drawn a sprawling field of candidates as Democrats eye a rare opportunity in the deep red state to flip a Republican seat in the battle for control of the House of Representatives. “Alabama’s long-awaited Congressional map means …

1 year, 1 month ago

Louisiana lawmakers have until Jan. 15 to enact new congressional map, court says

Associated Press

— The Louisiana Legislature has until Jan. 15 to enact a new congressional map after a lower court last year ruled that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state’s Black voters, a federal New Orleans appeals court said Friday. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick said in her ruling that “evidence of Louisiana’s long and ongoing history of …

1 year, 1 month ago

Judge says Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts are discriminatory and must be redrawn

Associated Press

ATLANTA — A federal judge ruled Thursday that some of Georgia’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner, ordering the state to draw an additional Black-majority congressional district. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, in a 516-page order, also ordered the state to draw two new Black-majority districts in Georgia’s 56-member state Senate and …

1 year, 2 months ago

The Supreme Court refuses to speed the drawing of a new congressional map in Louisiana

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an emergency appeal from Black voters in Louisiana to speed the process of drawing new congressional districts in the state. The appeals court said U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick was moving too fast and must give the state more time to consider a new map. Civil rights groups had hoped a new …

1 year, 2 months ago

The Supreme Court signals support for a Republican-leaning congressional district in South Carolina

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to preserve the Republican hold on a South Carolina congressional district against a claim that it treats Black voters unfairly. The court’s six conservative justices signaled skepticism with a lower court ruling that ordered South Carolina to redraw a coastal district that is held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. Kavanaugh and …

1 year, 2 months ago

Black voting power gets boost in Alabama as new US House districts chosen by federal judges

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Federal judges on Thursday selected new congressional lines for Alabama to give the Deep South state a second district where Black voters comprise a substantial portion of the electorate. The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld the three-judge panel’s finding that Alabama’s prior map — with one majority-Black district out of seven in a state that is …

1 year, 2 months ago

Judges aiming to give Black voters more influence in Alabama set to redraw congressional districts

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal judge said Tuesday that the court will soon adopt new congressional districts for Alabama, choosing among proposals aimed at giving Black voters a greater opportunity to influence election outcomes in the Deep South state. The panel is stepping in to adopt new district boundaries after ruling that the Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature failed to remedy a …

1 year, 2 months ago

In a win for Black voters in redistricting case, Alabama to get new congressional lines

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama is headed to the first significant revamp of its congressional map in three decades after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s bid to keep using a plan with a single majority-Black district. WHAT HAPPENED Justices denied Alabama’s emergency request to keep Republican-drawn congressional lines in place and stop a three-judge panel from drawing new lines …

1 year, 2 months ago

The Supreme Court will let Alabama’s congressional map be redrawn to better represent Black voters

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the drawing of a new Alabama congressional map with greater representation for Black voters to proceed. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall struck a defiant pose even as he acknowledged a court-drawn map will be “imposed” on the state for use in next year’s elections. Allen’s three proposals would alter the boundaries of …

1 year, 2 months ago

Court appointee proposes Alabama congressional districts to provide representation to Black voters

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A court-appointed special master on Monday submitted three proposals for new congressional districts in Alabama as federal judges oversee the drawing of new lines to provide greater representation for Black voters. Richard Allen, the court-appointed special master, wrote that all three proposals follow the court’s instruction to create a second district in the state where Black voters …

1 year, 2 months ago

Supreme Court rejects Alabama's defiance in voting case

NPR

Supreme Court rejects Alabama's defiance in voting case Enlarge this image toggle caption Al Drago/Getty Images Al Drago/Getty Images The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to block enforcement of an Alabama voting rights decision that the high court issued just months ago. In June, the court ruled that Alabama's Republican-drawn congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act because, in …

1 year, 3 months ago

Supreme Court to decide whether Alabama can postpone drawing new congressional districts

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on Alabama’s request to let it keep new GOP-drawn congressional lines in place as it fights a three-judge panel’s plan to create a second majority-Black district, or something close to it, in the Deep South state. The state attorney general and lawyers representing Black voters who challenged the …

1 year, 3 months ago

A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They’re still waiting for new maps

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision siding with Black voters in an Alabama redistricting case gave Democrats and voting rights activists a surprising opportunity before the 2024 elections. Shawn Donahue of the State University of New York at Buffalo, an expert on voting rights and redistricting, said the Supreme Court could put a quick end to the delays and “summarily …

1 year, 3 months ago

Balance of power at stake as judge sets pre-Thanksgiving timeline for Georgia redistricting ruling

Raw Story

This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. And now the question of whether Georgia’s GOP-drawn political maps illegally dilute Black voting strength is in the hands of federal Judge Steve Jones, who told both sides …

1 year, 3 months ago

A judge must now decide if Georgia voting districts are racially discriminatory after a trial ended

Associated Press

ATLANTA — A trial challenging voting district maps in Georgia concluded Thursday with the state arguing that court intervention on behalf of Black voters isn’t needed, while the plaintiffs argued that Black voters are still fighting opposition from white voters and need federal help to get a fair shot. If U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rules for the challengers, one …

54 years, 11 months ago

Alabama Is Quickly Discovering the Dangers of Defying the Supreme Court

Slate

Alabama Republicans’ brash defiance of the Supreme Court hit a wall on Tuesday when a federal district court declared that the state’s new congressional maps discriminate against Black citizens in violation of the Voting Rights Act. In January 2022, based on long-standing precedent, a right-leaning district court sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the state to draw a second “opportunity” …

1 year, 3 months ago

A Georgia redistricting trial begins with a clash over what federal law requires for Black voters

Associated Press

ATLANTA — Challengers to Georgia’s voting district maps told a federal judge Tuesday that the state is legally required to provide more political opportunities to Black voters, while the state suggested plaintiffs are trying to impose illegal racial gerrymanders of congressional and legislative districts. “Black voters were shut out of new political opportunities, even though new Black-majority districts could have …

1 year, 3 months ago

Judges reject Alabama’s congressional lines, will draw new districts to increase Black voting power

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Federal judges said Tuesday that they will draft new congressional lines for Alabama after lawmakers refused to create a second district where Black voters at least came close to comprising a majority, as suggested by the court. In blocking the newly drawn congressional map, the three-judge panel wrote that they are “deeply troubled” that Alabama lawmakers flouted …

1 year, 4 months ago

Lawsuit says Tennessee’s US House and state Senate maps discriminate against communities of color

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is facing its first court challenge over a congressional redistricting map that carved up Democratic-leaning Nashville to help Republicans flip a seat in last year’s elections, a move that the plaintiffs say has unconstitutionally diluted the power of Black voters and other communities of color. By splintering Nashville into three Republican-majority districts that stretch into rural …

1 year, 4 months ago

Plaintiffs in voting rights case urge judges to toss Alabama’s new congressional map

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Voting rights activists are returning to court to fight Alabama’s redrawn congressional districts, saying state Republicans failed to follow federal court orders to create a district that is fair to Black voters. A special three-judge panel in 2022 blocked use of the the state’s existing districts and said any new congressional map should include two districts where …

1 year, 5 months ago

The fight over Alabama’s congressional redistricting now shifts back to federal court

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Standing at an Alabama Statehouse microphone before lawmakers voted on new congressional districts, state Rep. Chris England said that change in the Deep South state has often happened only through federal court order. The fight over whether Alabama’s congressional map complies with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 now shifts back to federal court as state Republicans …

1 year, 5 months ago

Alabama GOP accused of ripping off Black voters with new congressional map

Raw Story

Republicans in Alabama have passed a new congressional map that is reportedly being criticized for defying U.S. Supreme Court precedent created to protect minority voters. "Civil rights groups have already vowed to challenge the new map in court, a month after the Supreme Court ruled that the state's previous district lines marginalized the state's sizable Black population in violation of …

1 year, 5 months ago

After court ruling, Alabama GOP criticized for rejecting 2nd majority-Black congressional district

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Republicans on Tuesday advanced proposals to boost the number of Black voters in one of the state’s seven congressional districts, but critics said the plans flout a court order to create a second majority-Black district or something close to it. Republican-controlled legislative committees on Tuesday voted down proposals to create a second majority-Black district and advanced …

1 year, 5 months ago

Judge refuses to toss discrimination lawsuits over Georgia voting districts

Associated Press

ATLANTA — A judge has refused to dismiss lawsuits alleging Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts illegally discriminate against Black voters. The orders apply to three cases, one challenging the lines of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts and two challenging the lines of the 56 state Senate and 180 state House districts. In the state legislative cases, the challengers argue a map …

1 year, 5 months ago

Alabama Republicans reject call for 2nd majority Black district, despite Supreme Court ruling

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Republicans, under orders of the U.S. Supreme Court to redraw congressional districts to give minority voters a greater voice in elections, rejected calls Monday to craft a second majority-Black district and proposed a map that could test what is required by the judges’ directive. In a state where more than one in four residents is Black, …

1 year, 5 months ago

Alabama rushes to adopt new congressional map amid disagreement on what district should look like

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Federal judges that ordered Alabama to draw new congressional lines said the state should have a second district where Black voters are the majority “or something quite close to it” and have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice. The directive comes after a surprise U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the lower court’s ruling …

1 year, 5 months ago

Supreme Court unfreezes Louisiana redistricting case that could boost Black voting power before 2024

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday lifted its hold on a Louisiana political remap case, increasing the likelihood that the Republican-dominated state will have to redraw boundary lines to create a second mostly Black congressional district. “What this does is it puts us back on track to realize a second majority-minority district.” In a written statement, the Louisiana Legislative …

1 year, 6 months ago

New voting districts could change again in some states before the 2024 elections

Associated Press

The 2022 elections marked the first using new voting districts drawn from updated census data. RACE IN REDISTRICTING The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s congressional districts likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. It ordered a lower court to impose new U.S. House and state …

1 year, 6 months ago

Supreme Court voting rights ruling stuns minority voters, who hope it expands their representation

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — This week’s Supreme Court decision ordering Alabama to redraw its congressional districts was seen by many minority lawmakers and voting rights activists as a stunning victory with the potential to become a major stepping stone for undoing political maps that dilute the strength of communities of color. “As I said when I vetoed it, Louisiana’s current congressional map …

1 year, 6 months ago

Supreme Court rules Alabama discriminated against Black voters in major victory for voting rights

The Independent

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy In a victory for voting rights and Alabama voters, the …

1 year, 6 months ago

Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of Voting Rights Act

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken a landmark voting rights law. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh aligned with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling …

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1 month, 2 weeks ago