The lower court’s injunction is stayed while the case against the redistricted map proceeds.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order allowing the state of Alabama to use district maps drawn in 2023 for this year’s midterm election. The Supreme Court had sent the case back to the lower court panel that initially blocked the use of the redistricted map for reconsideration based on the high court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, only for that panel to rule against the state again. Alabama then filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court.
The majority decision stated that alternative maps “must meet all the state’s legitimate districting objectives,“ and that “those legitimate districting objectives, we held, include ‘the State’s specified political goals‘ and ‘any other goal not prohibited by the Constitution.‘”
The order continued, “A plaintiff also ‘cannot use race as a districting criterion‘ in preparing the alternative map.“
The order does not decide the case, but allows the state of Alabama to proceed with the disputed map during this election cycle while the legal process plays out.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for the justices of the Supreme Court as they determine the outcomes of the remaining cases heard this term.
- For federal and state election officials as they seek to ensure election integrity and security.
- For U.S. and state legislators to be discerning as they deliberate respectively on election bills and acts to implement election reforms and to redraw districts.
Sources: Supreme Court, Reuters, USA Today
