Supreme Court Rules Alabama Violated Voting Rights Act, Upholding Rights of Minority Voters

In a surprise decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Alabama violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the Black vote when it drew new congressional maps following the 2020 census. The 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, found that Alabama Republicans improperly denied Black communities a second congressional district by packing them into one district and splitting them into other majority white districts.

The decision in Allen v. Milligan comes as a shock as the court’s conservatives have repeatedly gutted the Voting Rights Act in cases over the past decade including Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee. The court’s 6-3 conservative majority turned away the state’s effort to make it harder to remedy concerns raised by civil rights advocates that the power of Black voters in states like Alabama is being diluted by dividing voters into districts where white voters are in the majority.

The ruling means the map of the seven congressional districts, which heavily favors Republicans, will now be redrawn. Civil rights advocates have long argued that the current map, which was drawn in 2012, was designed to limit the influence of Black voters. The Supreme Court’s decision could have far-reaching implications for other states that have been accused of similar voting rights violations.

The Supreme Court’s decision is a major victory for civil rights activists, who have long argued that the Voting Rights Act is essential to protecting the rights of minority voters. The decision is also a reminder that the court’s conservative majority is not immune to upholding the law when it comes to protecting the rights of minority voters.