Earlier this week, during an interview on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Alabama Republican Party chairman John Wahl said last month's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to postpone a decision on Louisiana's redistricting case was a "good sign" for Alabama.
Under consideration by the high court was whether the Louisiana Legislature, which took race into account when drafting its reapportionment map, complied with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, similar to a lower court-imposed map that the State of Alabama is currently operating under.
"Well, believe it or not, I think it was actually a good sign for our redistricting case," Wahl said. "So, remember that we've already lost — the state of Alabama with our case, we lost getting a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court on our case. And there was a lot of suspected, you know, negativity surrounding that because it's usually the court's not going to reverse a ruling where they gave it, didn't give a stay."
"So, the chance is, punting Louisiana, we'll put it more in the same timeframe as Alabama, in which case we could see these cases, if not merged into one case, heard at the same time or very closely," he continued. "And we could see a dual ruling. And having Louisiana and Alabama separate actually could be the court's way of saying, 'Look, we're going to look at this as a holistic issue.'"
Wahl added, "This is not about Alabama. It's not about our former refusal to stay from them. This is about the entire question of, is it appropriate for anyone, whether it's a lower court or state legislature, to look at districts based on the color of people's skin, which has been the party's argument the whole time."
Jeff Poor is the editor-in-chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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