Staff Reports
A recent decision by a federal court has rejected Alabama's newly proposed district boundaries. The court determined that the present congressional maps might violate the Voting Rights Act due to inadequate representation of the state's Black population. The judgment stemmed from the recognition that there's a significant concentration of Black voters of eligible age, sufficient to form a majority in a second reasonably-sized voting district. Furthermore, the court observed that white voters tend to collectively vote against the preferred candidates of Black voters.
Federal Court Strikes Down Alabama's Redistricting Maps yet Again; What's the End Game? https://t.co/fSSST1C7Qn
— RedState (@RedState) September 6, 2023
In her review of the decision, O'Connell brings up some interesting points. She wonders if the court did a good job of figuring out how many Black voters were in mixed or mostly-white counties and if these voters were being denied the right to vote. O'Connell also points out that the redistricting arm of the Alabama legislature tried to follow the court's original ruling by making a second majority-Black district, but this is now seen as going against the decision.
NEWS: A federal court just struck down the Alabama state legislature's 2023 redistricting plan and directed a special master to fairly redraw our congressional maps.
This is yet another victory for Black voters and the promise of fair representation!
Read my full statement. ?? pic.twitter.com/WJfzInpsj4
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) September 5, 2023
The legislature worked together to meet the court's vague requirements, so today's ruling is disappointing. Above all, it's frustrating that the court chooses to legislate when the Alabama Legislature knows our citizens, hometowns, and communities better than any federal judge. https://t.co/arIb5go8wN
— Nathaniel Ledbetter (@RepLedbetter) September 5, 2023
O'Connell says that the goal for Democrats and their political groups, like the Southern Poverty Law Center, is to gain more power and take control of how laws are made. She says that putting counties with a majority of Black people together with counties with people of other races will actually make the Black vote stronger, not weaker. But she admits that people still say that Black people aren't allowed to vote and that there are hurdles to voting for Black people.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wants to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that the legislature's map is in line with the Voting Rights Act and the recent Supreme Court decision. O'Connell thinks that this decision and other redistricting battles will make a lot of progress before the 2024 election.
