BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A panel of federal judges on Monday started a overview of Alabama’s redrawn congressional map which opponents argued defies the court docket’s mandate to create a second district the place Black voters have a chance to affect the end result of an election.
The three-judge panel, which blocked the usage of the state’s previous map final 12 months, will resolve whether or not to let Alabama’s new districts go ahead or step in and draw new congressional districts for the state.
Alabama was pressured to attract new district strains after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a shock June choice, upheld the panel’s earlier discovering that the state’s then-map – which had one Black-majority district out of seven in a state the place a couple of in 4 residents is Black – probably violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
Lawyers for voters within the case argued Monday that the brand new plan, which maintains one majority-Black district, nonetheless discriminates in opposition to Black voters. They stated it flouts the panel’s 2022 discovering that Alabama ought to have two districts the place Black voters comprise a majority or “something quite close to it.”
Abha Khanna, an legal professional representing one group of plaintiffs within the case, stated Alabama selected “defiance over compliance.”
“Alabama has chosen instead to thumb its nose at this court and to thumb its nose at the nation’s highest court and to thumb its nose at its own Black citizens,” Khanna stated.
Alabama Republicans, who’ve been reluctant to create a Democratic-leaning district, boosted the proportion of Black voters within the majority-white 2nd Congressional District, now represented by Republican Rep. Barry Moore, from about 30% to 39.9%.
Deuel Ross, a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund who argued the case earlier than the Supreme Court, stated Alabama lawmakers knew they have been alleged to create a chance district for Black voters however refused to take action.
A lawyer for the state accused plaintiffs of searching for a “racial gerrymander” over conventional pointers for drawing districts, corresponding to conserving districts compact and conserving communities of curiosity collectively.
“It’s unlawful to enforce proportionality over traditional redistricting principles,” Edmund LaCour, Alabama’s solicitor normal, instructed the three-judge panel.
Alabama has maintained the brand new plan complies with the Voting Rights Act. State leaders are partaking in a high-stakes wager that the panel will settle for their proposal or that the state will prevail in a second spherical of appeals to the Supreme Court which may once more check the necessities of the Voting Rights Act.
The judges didn’t point out how shortly they’ll rule. The panel in 2022 issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s then-map. During the court docket listening to, a choose requested the perimeters about subsequent steps and whether or not they have been beginning anew within the overview of the map.
“Are we in the first inning?” Judge Stan Marcus requested.
The high-stakes listening to, which continues Monday afternoon, drew a lot of spectators to the federal courthouse in Birmingham the place an overflow room was opened to accommodate the massive crowd. Plaintiffs within the Supreme Court case attended with many sporting T-shirts printed with their proposed map which might have two majority-Black districts.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, stated in a press release that Alabama’s new map “denies Black Alabamians their lawfully protected rights.”
“Alabama’s latest congressional map is a continuation of the state’s sordid history of defying court orders intended to protect the rights of Black voters,” Holder stated.
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