After a lower court in Alabama rejected the opportunity to follow the Supreme Court’s lead and reverse its decision blocking the state’s new congressional map favoring Republicans, Alabama appealed directly to the High Court, asking it to intervene.
On April 29, a Supreme Court decision struck down Louisiana’s racially-gerrymandered map and limited the ability of plaintiffs to use the Voting Rights Act to prove a map is unconstitutional, reviving the prospects of Alabama’s court-blocked congressional map.
Then, on May 11, the Supreme Court sent Alabama’s redistricting dispute over its new map back to the lower federal district court that had banned it, advising it to reconsider its decision in light of the Louisiana ruling and allow the new map to be used in November's congressional elections.
Obstinate, the three-judge panel refused to reverse its ruling that the new map constitutes intentional racial discrimination, prompting Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen to file an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday:
“The Court should enter an administrative stay and a stay pending appeal of the injunctions barring the State from using the 2023 Plan. In the alternative, the State respectfully requests that the Court construe this stay application as a jurisdictional statement and summarily reverse for the 2026 or 2028 elections, or note probable jurisdiction and consider these cases on the merits in October Term 2026 in advance of the 2028 elections.”
“The balance of harms and the public interest warrant a stay,” the application says:
“Alabama and the public face irreparable harm unless a stay issues because they will be unable to use the State’s ‘duly enacted plans’ for the 2026 election. Perez,585 U.S. at 602 n.17.
“Worse still, voters will be forced to vote under a court-drawn racially gerrymandered map that does not meet Alabama’s legitimate districting goals. The balance of the equities thus favor staying the district court’s last-minute intrusion into Alabama’s election.”
The fate of Alabama’s appeal now lies in the hands of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as The Hill explains:
“The request will go to Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency matters arising from Alabama by default. He could also refer it to the full court, which is common for high-profile cases.”
