The saga of Alabama congressional redistricting likely has come to an end, with Democrats likely to pick up a seat. The dispute has been over creating a second district in which the candidate preferred by black voters (Democrat) was likely to win. See these posts for background:
As reflected in that last link, a special master selected by the three-judge panel proposed three maps for a new District 2, all of which had varying likelihoods of favoring Democrats: District 2 has a Black voting age population of 50.1% on Remedial Plan 1, 48.5% on Remedial Plan 2, and 48.7% on Remedial Plan 3.
The Court today picked Remedial Plan 3.
Under the map that was accepted by Thursday’s order, Black voters comprise 48.7% of the voting age population in one district and 51.9% of the voting age population in a second district.
The map that will be used in the 2024 election is likely to see Democrats win an additional seat in Alabama, given that Black voters there favor Democrats.
“The Office of the Secretary of State will facilitate the 2024 election cycle in accordance with the map the federal court has forced upon Alabama and ordered us to use,” Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement.
“It is important for all Alabamians to know that the legal portion of this process has not yet been completed. A full hearing on the redistricting issue will take place in the future and I trust Attorney General Marshall to represent Alabama through that process,” Allen said. “In the meantime, I will keep our state’s elections safe, secure and transparent because that is what I was elected to do.”
Black voters — who all sides appear to believe will heavily vote Democrat – are now a majority in one district, and a near-majority in a second district.
You can read the Court’s Order below.
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