Key takeaways:
- The new court-imposed map creates a second Black-plurality district in southern Alabama, which Democrats should be heavily favored in.
- The new district was created by moving the heavily white coastal region bordering Florida into the 1st congressional district and extending the 2nd district across the Black Belt.
- The new map is set to be used for the 2024 congressional elections, and it is expected to have a significant impact on the state’s political landscape.
Alabama has been ordered to conduct its 2024 congressional elections under a new map crafted by a special master, following a Supreme Court decision in June that found the state had violated the Voting Rights Act when it drew new maps following the 2020 census.
The new court-imposed map creates a second Black-plurality district in southern Alabama, which Democrats should be heavily favored in. The district voted 56%-43% for President Joe Biden in 2020.
The new district was created by moving the heavily white coastal region bordering Florida into the 1st congressional district and extending the 2nd district across the Black Belt, named for the rich soil that favored the crop plantations where enslaved people labored and their descendants still live.
The Supreme Court decision in June found that the state’s original map violated the Voting Rights Act and sent the case back to the federal court. The court then selected the new congressional map for Alabama, which includes the second Black opportunity district.
The new map is set to be used for the 2024 congressional elections, and it is expected to have a significant impact on the state’s political landscape. It remains to be seen how the new map will affect the balance of power in the state.
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