So the Supreme Court Is Just Letting the Republicans Get Away with Unfair Districts, Huh

"The extensive record in these cases supports the District Court's conclusion that plaintiffs' [Section 2] claim was likely to succeed under Gingles. As to the first Gingles precondition, the District Court correctly found that black voters could constitute a majority in a second district that was "reasonably configured." The plaintiffs adduced eleven illustrative districting maps that Alabama could enact, at least one of which contained two majority-black districts that comported with traditional districting criteria."

"In this decision, the Court upheld lower court decisions that concluded that Alabama's 2021 redistricting maps had herded the state's Black voters into one congressional district while splitting other Black communities up between different white-majority districts. Subsequently, Alabama adopted a new map, but a district court threw that one out and appointed a special master. The Supreme Court declined to take action in the matter of this second map. The special master produced his own map and the lower court ordered the state to use it."

"Alabama went to the Supreme Court, which delayed its consideration of the state's appeals until after the justices issued their April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, in which it struck down Louisiana's congressional map. On Friday, the state-which had asked the justices to expedite their consideration of those appeals-also sought to have the lower-court orders barring Alabama from using the 2023 map put on hold immediately because the justices are not scheduled to issue orders from their next private conference until Monday, May 18, just one day before the state's primary election is currently scheduled to take place."

The record supported a finding that plaintiffs’ Section 2 claim was likely to succeed under Gingles. Black voters could form a majority in a second district that was reasonably configured, and illustrative maps showed Alabama could draw at least one plan with two majority-Black districts while meeting traditional districting criteria. The Supreme Court upheld lower court conclusions that Alabama’s 2021 redistricting maps concentrated Black voters into one congressional district and divided other Black communities among white-majority districts. Alabama adopted a new map, but a district court rejected it and appointed a special master. The Supreme Court declined to intervene regarding the second map, and the lower court required Alabama to use the special master’s map.

Read at Esquire