On May 26, 2026 a federal panel slapped a block on Alabama Republicans’ House map, ruling that the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that placed limits on the Voting Rights Act does not impact their conclusion that the new district lines were designed to intentionally discriminate against black voters. In the decision handed down on Tuesday, the panel, made up of three federal judges, directed the state of Alabama to continue using the court-drawn “Special Master” map for the November midterms.
In the ruling, the panel stated that the “purpose” of the state’s plan to use a newer 2023 congressional map “was to distribute” black voters “across districts to dilute their votes, at least in part because they are black.” Following the SCOTUS decision concerning the Voting Rights Act in April 2026, Alabama moved to reinstate the 2023 congressional map, which contained only one Democratic-leaning district, which had previously been struck down in court.
“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the ruling went on to say. “And under the unusual circumstances of this case, we conclude that a limited order requiring the Secretary to continue using this Court’s race-blind map will not disrupt Alabama’s elections (all candidates ran under the race-blind map until fifteen days ago, and all voters remain districted under the race-blind map in electoral computer systems).”
“Counsel argues mightily that the Legislature’s partisan motives drove the creation of the 2023 Plan, but this enormous record contains no evidence of a partisan motive,” the ruling stated, according to The Daily Caller. “And the only evidence on the issue cuts against one: Alabama’s legislative leadership testified that overtures from national party leaders did not affect their work.”
Much to the chagrin of Democrats in Alabama, the state can still appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, as this clearly seems to be a case of activist judges interfering with the will of the people. The panel featured Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, who was appointed to the bench by former President Bill Clinton, along with two other judges who were appointed by President Donald Trump: District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer.
On May 11, 2026, the Supreme Court created a path for Alabama to move forward with a congressional map that a lower court had previously blocked for allegedly violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in voting, according to a blog post published by SCOTUSblog that broke down the legislation.
Many of the comments on the Daily Caller story expressed agitation with judges who put their personal politics above the America First agenda of the current administration. One individual wrote, “Those judges should be immediately removed from the bench.” President Trump has been calling for states to redraw district lines as a means of preventing Democrats from gaining additional seats, while creating new ones for the GOP so Republicans can retain control over Congress.
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