Alabama’s post-2020 congressional redistricting process became a major legal battleground over the Voting Rights Act. In November 2021, the legislature enacted a congressional map that maintained only one majority-Black district out of seven, despite Black Alabamians comprising over 27% of the state’s population. Civil rights groups and voters filed federal lawsuits, including Milligan v. Merrill, arguing that the map unlawfully diluted Black voting strength. In 2022, a federal court blocked the map, but the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allowed it for the 2022 elections. The Court later affirmed in Allen v. Milligan (2023) that the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordered a second district where Black voters could elect a candidate of their choice. The legislature's 2023 revision failed to meet this requirement, prompting the court to appoint a special master, whose remedial map will govern elections through 2030.

Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais significantly raised the bar for Section 2 challenges, requiring plaintiffs to prove intentional racial discrimination rather than discriminatory effects. Citing Callais, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to lift the injunction barring new maps before 2030, and Gov. Kay Ivey called a special legislative session that produced legislation authorizing special primary elections if the courts allow a reversion to the legislature's previously rejected 2023 map. As of early May 2026, the matter rests with the Supreme Court, which has asked the opposing parties to submit written arguments, leaving the fate of the court-drawn map, and the seats held by Figures and Rep. Terri Sewell, unresolved ahead of the state's scheduled May 19 primary.

The state legislative redistricting process also faced legal scrutiny, though it unfolded more slowly. Alabama adopted new state House and Senate maps in November 2021, which were immediately challenged in federal court in Thomas v. Merrill (later Alabama NAACP v. Allen) as racial gerrymanders. The case was stayed for over a year pending the Supreme Court’s ruling in the congressional case. After Allen v. Milligan, plaintiffs narrowed their challenge to the Senate map, arguing that it diluted Black voters’ influence in the Montgomery area. In August 2025, a federal court agreed, holding that one Senate district violated the Voting Rights Act. When the governor declined to call a special session to revise the map, the court adopted its own remedial plan, which will be used in the 2026 and 2030 elections. Legal appeals from the state remain pending.

last updated: May 2026