The U.S. Supreme Court gave Alabama a “major victory” on Tuesday in its longstanding redistricting battle, according to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled Tuesday, 6-3, in favor of Alabama’s efforts to use a 6-1 Republican congressional map for the 2026 election. The ruling stayed an injunction issued last week by a three-judge panel of federal judges that blocked the use of a 6-1 Republican congressional map passed by lawmakers in 2023.
“Tonight’s decision is a major victory for Alabama and for the principle of self-governance. The United States Supreme Court confirmed what we always knew: that Alabama’s Congressional maps are constitutional and lawful under the Voting Rights Act. The Court's decision to stay the district court's injunction affirms that Alabama's elected representatives, not federal judges, have the primary authority to draw the maps under which Alabamians choose their own leaders,” Marshall said.
“The Supreme Court rightly recognized that its recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais fundamentally changes the legal landscape. The district court's brazen refusal to apply that controlling precedent left the Court with no choice but to intervene and put a stop to the district court's attempts to override the will of the people. The Court also acknowledged that a state enjoined from enforcing the laws passed by its own legislature suffers real harm.”
Marshall continued, “For too long, Alabama has been denied the full measure of its sovereignty by judges who insist on treating our state as though it never moved beyond the 1960s. No more. We have the same right as any other state to draw our own congressional maps according to our own legitimate districting objectives, without being held to a different and more burdensome standard by federal courts.”
“The High Court agreed that Alabamians should elect their representatives under the map chosen through their democratic process. And we will not allow unelected judges to repeatedly redraw our State's electoral maps in defiance of the Supreme Court's own standards. We look forward to full vindication on appeal and will continue to defend Alabama's right to conduct its own elections,” Marshall said.
The decision allows the August 11 special primary election to go forward using the 2023 congressional map drawn by the Legislature. The candidates who qualified by May 22 under the 2023 map will be on the ballot August 11.
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