{"id":584155,"date":"2023-07-24T23:13:50","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T20:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/"},"modified":"2023-07-24T23:13:50","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T20:13:50","slug":"five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"#Five things to know about the battle over Alabama\u2019s congressional maps"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a367f39b115e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a367f39b115e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/#Supreme_Court_ordered_maps_to_be_redrawn\" >Supreme Court ordered maps to be redrawn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/#The_Alabama_GOP_defied_the_order\" >The Alabama GOP defied the order<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/#The_new_map_has_political_implications_for_Democrats\" >The new map has political implications for Democrats<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/#Black_lawmakers_are_outraged\" >Black lawmakers are outraged<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/#The_legal_fight_is_likely_to_continue\" >The legal fight is likely to continue<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/news-illustration_redistricting_072423mm-adobe-stock-getty_alabama.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Republican-controlled Alabama state legislature has caused a furor after refusing to create a new congressional map to include a second majority-Black district.<\/p>\n<p>The decision on Friday defies a recent Supreme Court order and has sparked\u00a0outrage from Democrats who argue the legislature has continued to dilute Black voting power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe passed a map that most of us didn\u2019t see until about an hour before we voted on it,\u201d state Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, tweeted on Friday. \u201cI am convinced that passing a non-compliant map was the plan all along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what to know about the battle over Alabama\u2019s congressional maps.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Supreme_Court_ordered_maps_to_be_redrawn\"><\/span><strong>Supreme Court ordered maps to be redrawn<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After the 2020 census, Alabama implemented a redistricting plan. Although 27 percent of the state\u2019s residents are Black, under the plan only one of the state\u2019s seven districts would be a majority-Black district.<\/p>\n<p>This map \u2014 and the lack of majority-Black districts \u2014 became the center of a lawsuit brought by a\u00a0group of voters, the Alabama chapter of the NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries.<\/p>\n<p>In the case, Merrill v. Milligan, the plaintiffs argued that the map illegally packed Black voters into the Black Belt, a mostly rural expanse of land across the middle of the state where nearly 60 percent of registered voters identified as Black. Other districts, the plaintiffs argued, had less than 31 percent of registered Black voters.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiffs alleged that the GOP-controlled legislature had engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, with the goal of racially discriminating against African American voters. This, they argued, violated the U.S. Constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Alabama had argued the map used a race-neutral benchmark and therefore did not violate the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n<p>But in January, a ruling by federal judges agreed with the plaintiffs and blocked the map.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlack voters have less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect candidates of their choice to Congress,\u201d the three-judge panel wrote in the 225-page ruling. \u201cWe find that the plaintiffs will suffer an irreparable harm if they must vote in the 2022 congressional elections based on a redistricting plan that violates federal law,\u201d the ruling stated.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The state then <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ealed the ruling before the Supreme Court \u2014 and the Supreme Court\u00a0upheld\u00a0the lower court\u2019s decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The decision, which was seen as a surprise, ordered the state to create a new map with an additional majority-Black district or \u201csomething quite close to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we explain below, we find Alabama\u2019s new approach to [Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act] compelling neither in theory nor in practice. We accordingly decline to recast our \u00a72 case law as Alabama requested,\u201d\u00a0Chief Justice John Roberts\u00a0wrote for the majority.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Alabama_GOP_defied_the_order\"><\/span><strong>The Alabama GOP defied the order<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Alabama lawmakers had until Friday to introduce a new congressional map. \u201cLast week, they introduced a map that would increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd Congressional District from about 30 percent to\u00a0about\u00a042.5 percent.\u201dBut these numbers were still below the court\u2019s order.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last week\u2019s proposal was approved by the Permanent Legislative Committee in a party-line 14-6 vote.<\/p>\n<p>Then, on Friday, Republicans passed a new congressional map that includes only one majority-Black district and another that is about 40-percent Black, in defiance of the country\u2019s top court.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Gov. Kay Ivey (R) approved the map late Friday and has stood by Republicans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Legislature knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups, and I am pleased that they answered the call, remained focused and produced new districts ahead of the court deadline,\u201d Ivey said in a statement,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsfa.com\/2023\/07\/21\/lawmakers-react-alabamas-newly-approved-congressional-map\/\">according to WSFA<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>State Republicans have defended the map, saying it does uphold the court\u2019s order.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>State Rep. Greg Reed (R), the Alabama Senate president pro tempore, said the legislature had worked \u201ctirelessly\u201d to pull the map together.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI firmly believe that the map we adopted in the House and Senate is a fair solution that positions Alabama\u2019s congressional districts and our voters in the best way possible,\u201d Reed said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile any special session of this nature comes with a lot of work and thoughtful discussions, we are here doing what we need to do to serve our great state and our people.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_new_map_has_political_implications_for_Democrats\"><\/span><strong>The new map has political implications for Democrats<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in June was seen as a huge victory not only for voting rights advocates, but also for Democrats as they look to take back the House in next year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n<p>Following that surprise decision, the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted both the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts in Alabama toward Democrats \u2014 from \u201csafe Republican\u201d to \u201ctoss-up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats need only to net five seats to regain control of the lower chamber. The high court\u2019s ruling last month was seen as a sign that the party is heading into next year with the odds of doing that in their favor.<\/p>\n<p>But Republicans are now being accused of trying to dilute Black voting power with their newly proposed map. Since the majority of the state\u2019s Black residents back Democrats, this could have a negative impact on the party\u2019s fortunes and make the seats more competitive for Republicans.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Black_lawmakers_are_outraged\"><\/span><strong>Black lawmakers are outraged<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Black lawmakers at both the state and federal level blasted the Republican map on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>England, the Democrat from Tuscaloosa, told The Hill that last week felt like a \u201ctorture process\u201d that ended with the new map.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the beginning, every map that my Republican colleagues produced and submitted to the body for consideration managed to dodge public scrutiny or input,\u201d England said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>England said he and other Democrats had hoped Republicans \u201cwouldn\u2019t just openly defy a court order.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead, what we got was, I guess, Alabama business as usual and a map that was drawn out of scrutiny [of] the public,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>England said it\u2019s hard to look at the map and other legislative acts and not believe there is a message being sent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecently, Alabama attempted to pass a law that threatened incarceration to anybody that helped assisted someone in an absentee ballot and you kind of see the same spirit manifests itself in openly defying a court order to make sure that Black voters impact or influence on an election is minimized and marginalized,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Sewell said in a statement on Friday that the new map does not comply with the Supreme Court\u2019s order and instead the state had \u201cshamelessly chosen to ignore\u201d the court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis map does not comply with the Supreme Court\u2019s order and is an insult to Black voters across our state,\u201d Sewell said. \u201cI fully expect that it will be rejected by the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Alabama House Democratic Caucus accused the Republican majority of\u00a0prioritizing political ambition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe court ruled that our Black population is large enough and geographically compact enough to create a second district,\u201d the caucus said in a statement. \u201cAnd yet, the majority pushed through a map that blatantly fails to meet that standard. Remember, we were handed a common-sense solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlabama has a long and tragic history of trampling on the voting rights of people of color,\u201d it added. \u201cSadly, that tradition is alive and well today. We hope and expect that the federal district court will reject this map in favor of one that satisfies the Voter Rights Act and upholds the voting rights of Black voters and all voters in Alabama.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_legal_fight_is_likely_to_continue\"><\/span><strong>The legal fight is likely to continue<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Alabama Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Steve Marshall\u2019s office said plaintiffs that want to object to the newly approved map have until July 28 to file their objections with the federal district court in Birmingham. His office will then file a response a week later.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A hearing will happen on Aug. 14.\u00a0The court can choose to implement maps drawn by outside experts if it agrees that the map is still racially gerrymandered.<\/p>\n<p>England has urged Alabamians to continue registering to vote regardless of the map.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, there must be some power associated with the vote if there are so many orchestrated, directed actions that are taking it away,\u201d England said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, in this specific situation \u2026 we are fussing and fighting but we\u2019re hoping that the court saves Alabama from itself and makes us do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4116814-five-things-to-know-about-the-battle-over-alabamas-congressional-maps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Republican-controlled Alabama state legislature has caused a furor after refusing to create a new congressional map to include a second majority-Black district. The decision on Friday defies a recent Supreme Court order and has sparked\u00a0outrage from Democrats who argue the legislature has continued to dilute Black voting power.\u00a0 \u201cWe passed a map that most&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":584156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/news-illustration_redistricting_072423mm-adobe-stock-getty_alabama.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134343,134418,134353,73014,90482,5019],"class_list":["post-584155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-campaign","tag-congress-blog","tag-court-battles","tag-health-care","tag-house","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}