Federal Court Blocks Alabama’s New US House Map

The Birmingham News reports:

The Alabama Legislature’s redistricting plan for 2022 will not take effect for congressional races after a panel of three federal court judges found the map dilutes the voting power of Black residents and blocked the proposal.

Two separate federal lawsuits were filed against the redistricting map on claims that it violated the Voting Rights Act by packing Black Alabamians into a small number of districts — including one congressional district, Alabama’s seventh, represented by U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham — and limiting their influence on state elections.

State Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office told the Associated Press it would appeal the panel’s ruling.

Read the full article.

?BREAKING: Federal court rules that Alabama’s new congressional map likely violates the Voting Rights Act and orders a new map to be drawn within the next 14 days.https://t.co/7cYOjLQkt6

— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) January 25, 2022