A 6-3 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) found the use of race-based redistricting to be unconstitutional in a Louisiana case on Wednesday.

The ruling in Louisiana v. Callais held that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution neither require nor allow States to use race to draw voting districts, either to create additional minority-majority districts or to intentionally dilute the vote of minority voters. States must use race-neutral considerations when crafting districts, according to the ruling. 

"The Supreme Court has spoken. States cannot be forced to gerrymander by race. Louisiana v. Callais is a watershed moment. The Court has shut the door on vote-dilution claims that use racial data to disguise what are really partisan disputes. Alabama has been fighting this battle for many years, and today the Supreme Court confirmed our long-held argument that States must not use race, either to help or to harm particular voters, when drawing voting districts. The Court rightly acknowledged that the South has made extraordinary progress, and that laws designed for a different era do not reflect the present reality. We will act as quickly as possible to apply this ruling to Alabama's redistricting efforts and ensure that our congressional maps reflect the will of the people, not a racial quota system the Constitution forbids," Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement on Wednesday.

The State of Alabama is still defending its congressional map, which legislators approved in 2023. A special master hired by a three-judge panel in Birmingham redrew the map for the 2024 congressional elections after Democrats and liberal groups were successful in their initial legal challenge. The issue is still being litigated. The new map resulted in Democrats picking up one seat in Alabama, Congressional District 2, with U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) in 2024.

U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco and U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer ruled the 2023 plan violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Adam Kincaid, executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, told 1819 News on Wednesday he was waiting to see what the Supreme Court does with Alabama redistricting cases. 

“We are just waiting to see what the Supreme Court does to the Alabama cases and we should expect to see an order as early as Monday,” Kincaid said. “Everything is in front of them so I’m curious to see what they do. It could go in a couple of different directions. Like I said, before we know what happens in Alabama, we need to know what the Supreme Court does with these cases on Monday when they release their orders.”

House Pro-Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) said last week the chances of Alabama redrawing its congressional map before 2030 were “slim to none” due to a three-judge panel that ruled against Alabama’s congressional map previously. However, Pringle said on Wednesday that Alabama was “vindicated” by the SCOTUS ruling.

“They vindicated the state of Alabama’s arguments, and now we are trying to determine where we go from here,” Pringle, Reapportionment Committee chair, told 1819 News on Wednesday.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), a candidate for governor in 2026, said “LET’S GO!” after the SCOTUS ruling.

 

Tuberville and Morgan Murphy called for a special session on redistricting in an op-ed on Tuesday.

“Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee could all maximize their Republican representation. Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas could each go deeper red. Our own state of Alabama – which voted for Trump by 65% in 2024 – by all rights should send an entirely Republican delegation to Washington,” Tuberville and Murphy wrote. “The moment the Court rules, Alabama’s attorney general and secretary of state should file a motion to vacate the federal district court injunction that locked in the current map through 2030. The argument is straightforward: the injunction was issued under a legal framework that no longer exists, making its continued enforcement inequitable. A swift lifting of that injunction would allow the governor to call a special session for reapportionment. Both chambers must pass a new map – a process Alabama completed in a single week in 2021 – before the governor signs it into law. Because the regular primary filing deadline has passed, the legislature should simultaneously authorize a congressional special election with reopened candidate qualifying. New nominees must be certified by the secretary of state no later than Aug. 24th to appear on the November general election ballot.”

Former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican primary candidate for State House District 20, also called for the governor to call a special session.

“Today, the U.S. Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais held that race may not be taken into account in redistricting. Race cannot be used to discriminate against minorities. Nor may race be used to promote minorities to the detriment of other races. The control of the U.S. House of Representatives is at stake. The future of America and the remainder of President Trump’s term will be determined, in part, by how Alabama and other states react to the Supreme Court’s decision. Since the 1980s, the Alabama legislature (often forced by federal court orders) used race as the primary factor in redistricting the Alabama legislature and Congressional house seats,” Brooks said in a statement on Wednesday. “Per today’s Supreme Court decision, Alabama’s use of racial gerrymandering is, at a minimum, highly suspect and, at worst, absolutely forbidden. With the future of America and Alabama at stake, I hereby formally request that Governor Kay Ivey immediately call a special session of the legislature to repeal all vestiges of racially-motivated gerrymandering of Congressional and legislative districts. In addition, I call on the legislature to, in that special session, remove all racial information from the demographical database used to redraw Congressional and legislative districts and to redistrict accordingly. If there is no racial information in the demographic database used to redraw districts, then there is no valid claim that racial discrimination motivated redrawn districts. The not one but two seats Republicans would gain in the U.S. House of Representatives may be critical to America’s future. Alabama must not help America go down a bad path by failing to act when the time is right and America’s future depends on it. So, Governor Ivey, get to it! America’s future is at stake. Please rise to the occasion.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) slammed the decision from “the right-wing Supreme Court.”

“Today’s decision is a devastating blow to American democracy and a death sentence for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The right-wing Supreme Court has not only turned its back on decades of precedent and ignored the intent of Congress and the will of the people, but it has weakened the foundational principle safeguarding fair representation for Black and minority voters. For decades, Section 2 has been the essential tool that allowed minority voters to challenge discriminatory maps and defend our right to meaningful political power. By gutting it, the Court has made it easier for bad actors to discriminate and harder for us to fight that discrimination in court. The decision is a gift to President Trump and his voter suppression scheme, making it easier for Republicans to steal congressional seats by diluting the voices of Black and minority voters,” Sewell said.  "As the representative of Alabama’s 7th District—a district whose very existence was secured through the Voting Rights Act—I know firsthand what is at stake. This decision will determine whether communities like ours can elect leaders who understand their lived experiences and fight for their needs. Its impact will not be confined to one state or one election cycle. It will shape who gets heard in our democracy, who gets counted, and whose voice gets left behind. The attacks on our voting rights are coming from every angle. Now more than ever, communities across the nation must mobilize and vote like we've never voted before. If the Court won't protect the rights of Black and minority voters, Congress must act. We must revise and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the full protections of the VRA. And we must reaffirm, through action, that every American deserves an equal voice in our democracy. The right to vote is the lifeblood of our democracy. In the spirit of John Lewis, we will continue to make ‘Good Trouble’ until the promise of democracy is real for all.”

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) called for state lawmakers to redistrict after the ruling was released. 

“Activist judges have been abusing federal law to suppress conservative voices for too long,” Moore said in a statement on Wednesday. “I’m grateful to the Supreme Court for this correct, Constitutional decision and call on the Alabama legislature to begin the process of redistricting. Alabama has stood with President Trump and the America First majority 100% of the way, and it’s time our Congressional delegation reflects that. Elections should be determined by Alabama’s values and candidates’ ideas, not the color of anyone’s skin.”

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