A panel of federal judges on Tuesday struck down a new congressional map created by Alabama Republicans that includes only one majority-Black district, defying a Supreme Court order.
“We are disturbed by the evidence that the State delayed remedial proceedings but ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy,” the three-judge panel wrote in a 217-page order Tuesday. “And we are struck by the extraordinary circumstance we face.”
“We are not aware of any other case in which a state legislature — faced with a federal court order declaring that its electoral plan unlawfully dilutes minority votes and requiring a plan that provides an additional opportunity district — responded with a plan that the state concedes does not provide that district,” they added.
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A special master will be appointed to redraw a “remedial map to ensure that a plan can be implemented as part of an orderly process in advance of elections, where the State was given an opportunity to enact a compliant map but failed to do so,” the judges wrote.
State Republicans are expected to appeal the decision. They approved a new map in July that contained just one majority-Black seat and a second district that was about 40% Black. The GOP-controlled Legislature redrew an earlier map after the Supreme Court upheld a federal court order to include two districts where Black voters make up voting-age majorities, “or something quite close to it.” The high court found that the newly drawn congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act.
The Alabama House passed the bill in a 75-28 vote after the state Senate voted 24 to 6 in favor of the revised map.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the redistricting map into law in July. Her office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the federal court ruling Tuesday.
“Following the U.S. Supreme Court order, I called the Alabama Legislature into a special session to readdress our congressional map,” Ivey said in a statement in July after signing the measure. “The 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.”
Jane C. Timm contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
