Alabama Republicans on Friday defied a US Supreme Court order approving a new congressional map that includes only one majority district — black.
The GOP-controlled Legislature had called a special session to redraw an earlier map after the Supreme Court reaffirmed a federal court order to include two districts where black voters make up voting-age majorities, “or something pretty close.” But on Friday, state Republicans approved a new map with just one majority black seat and a second district that is roughly 40 percent black.
The map was completed Friday afternoon, hours before a court-ordered deadline for the Legislature to draw up new boundaries, as a compromise between the House and Senate versions.
Evan Milligan, executive director of Alabama Forward, which earlier this month won a voting rights case at the Supreme Court, speaks in Birmingham on June 28.File Stew Milne/Getty Images
Democrats slammed the map and its drafters, arguing that lawmakers ignored a court order and that the map continued the racist history of voter suppression.
“There was never any intention in this building to comply with their court order,” said state Rep. Chris England, a Tuscaloosa Democrat. “There was never any intention in this building to comply with the Voting Rights Act.”
England and other Democrats argued that the map was designed to pose another challenge to the Voting Rights Act.
“I’m ashamed of what we’ve done here this week,” said state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham. “We have chosen to blatantly disobey the law and try to go ahead and vote to bury the Voting Rights Act.”
District lines are being watched closely by many in Washington, where redistricting battles playing out in courts in Alabama, New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and other states could decide control of Congress.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and much of the rest of Alabama’s congressional delegation had contacted Republican lawmakers, according to Republican state House Speaker Nathan Ledbetter.
Alluding to Tuberville’s past as football coach at Auburn University, spokesman Steven Stafford said in an email before the final vote: “The coach just wants the maps to be fair and all Alabamians to be well represented. He trusts the Alabama state legislators to get it right.”
McCarthy reached out to the plan’s sponsors and is concerned about keeping his majority in the House, Ledbetter said, while Tuberville called Thursday morning and said he was surprised the Supreme Court had ruled against the state, given the court’s conservative leaning.
“He was surprised we were in the situation,” Ledbetter said. “There are a lot of eyes on Alabama.”
McCarthy confirmed to NBC News that he spoke with “a few” Alabama lawmakers.
“I would like to know where they are going and if they are in the process of passing,” he said. “I know the Democrats are trying very hard to redraw New York. … I think people should be very fair in this process to be able to see what’s going on. I like to know what’s going to happen out there.”
‘Flip off’ the Supreme Court
Republicans have insisted the maps would give black voters a chance to choose representatives of their choice as required by the courts, but Democrats, voting rights experts and groups that sued the original maps disagree.
Kareem Clayton, an Alabama native who is an expert on redistricting at New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice, said his team analyzed 15 recent elections to see how the proposed Senate and House are drawn. would act
They found that the candidate preferred by black voters would win four out of 15 times under the House plan, while black voters could choose their preferred candidate only once under the Senate plan. And that victory was narrow, stemming from a notable upset: former Sen. Doug Jones’ historic upset over Roy Moore, a Republican accused of sexual misconduct with teenagers.
“The bottom line of both plans is obviously that they prioritize keeping the Gulf Coast together, which the Supreme Court said was no more important than providing a serious and effective opportunity for African-American voters,” he said.
Voting and civil rights groups that challenged the map as a violation of the Voting Rights Act vowed to fight the new one as well.
The plaintiffs can file objections in the coming weeks to the current court order, and federal judges will consider them at an Aug. 14 hearing. The court may decide to hire an outside expert to redraw the maps if it agrees that the map is another racial gerrymander.
As the Legislature advanced two maps without a second majority-black district, plaintiffs expressed outrage and shock.
Marina Jenkins, the executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, one of the groups that supported some of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Allen v. Milligan, hit the maps in a statement.
“Alabama Republicans are intentionally drawing political retention maps at the expense of black Alabama, defying the Alabama Supreme Court and district court. It’s a continuation of the state’s long and sordid history of disenfranchising black voters,” he said, vowing to challenge the maps in court.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Deuel Ross, who argued the case before the Supreme Court, said the plaintiffs were disappointed with Alabama’s responses to the court orders.
“That’s exactly why the Voting Rights Act was first created, this kind of stubbornness by the states,” he said in an interview. “Even when a court says they’re violating federal law or the Constitution, they’re still not doing the right thing. It’s troubling, but it’s part of a troubling story that’s been in America and Alabama for a long time.”
CORRECTION (21 Jul 2023 08:43 ET): A headline and an earlier version of this article got McCarthy’s title wrong. He is the speaker of the House, not its majority leader.
