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Federal judges block Alabama from using contested congressional map in 2026 elections
TennesseeGDELTGDELT event0% biasedTue, May 26, 2026, 12:00 AM
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Federal judges block Alabama from using contested congressional map in 2026 elections.Federal judges block Alabama from using contested congressional map in 2026 elections A federal panel has once again blocked Alabama from using its contested congressional map, ruling the state’s 2023 plan likely intentionally discriminated against Black voters.In a sweeping 102-page order issued Tuesday morning, the three-judge panel ordered Alabama to instead keep using a court-drawn “Special Master” map for the 2026 elections.The decision marks another major turn in the ongoing redistricting battle unfolding across the South after recent U.S.Supreme Court rulings reshaped how courts evaluate Voting Rights Act claims.Alabama lawmakers recently passed legislation preparing for special primary elections tied to possible map changes.Now, federal judges say the state cannot move forward using the Legislature’s 2023 congressional map.The judges wrote they could not “see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination.” The ruling says Alabama lawmakers knowingly approved a map that diluted Black voting power after courts had already ordered the state to create another district where Black voters could elect candidates of their choice.The court also sharply rejected Alabama’s arguments that politics — not race — drove the map drawing process.“This enormous record contains no evidence of a partisan motive,” the judges wrote.The panel said Alabama’s 2023 map intentionally distributed Black voters across districts “at least in part because they are Black.” Judges also pointed to what they called unusual actions by lawmakers during the map process, including special legislative findings and efforts to preserve Gulf Coast districts while splitting portions of Alabama’s Black Belt.The court said forcing Alabama to quickly switch back to the Legislature’s map now could also create election confusion and administrative problems.The ruling keeps in place the Special Master map Alabama already used during the 2024 elections and recent 2026 primary elections.Read it in full below: The legal fight is one of several major redistricting battles now playing out nationwide, including in Tennessee, Georgia and other Southern states.Depend on us to keep you posted.