WASHINGTON (LN) — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Alabama to use its 2023 congressional map, which a federal district court had blocked for discriminating against Black voters, and asked the lower court to reconsider the dispute in light of Louisiana v. Callais.
The justices vacated the lower-court order barring Alabama from using the map and sent the dispute back for another look. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from Monday’s decision, in a four-page opinion joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The ruling comes as the court faces another redistricting battle, with Virginia asking the justices on its interim docket to allow the state to reinstate a new congressional map that would advantage Democrats in the 2026 elections.
Lawyers for Virginia Democrats and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones contended that a ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court invalidating an amendment to the state constitution giving the General Assembly the power to enact new maps was “deeply mistaken on two critical issues of federal law with profound practical importance to the Nation.”
The Alabama map, adopted in 2023, had been blocked by a federal district court on the ground that it violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.
The Supreme Court's decision to vacate the lower court's order and remand the case for reconsideration in light of Louisiana v. Callais signals a significant shift landscape for Alabama's redistricting efforts.
The court's intervention in the Alabama case comes just days after it temporarily paused a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reinstating the requirement that the abortion pill mifepristone be dispensed only in person.
Justice Samuel Alito extended the temporary pause, known as an administrative stay, until 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 14, ensuring that mifepristone will remain widely available throughout the United States for now.
The court has indicated that it may release opinions on Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT, with live blogging beginning at 9:30.
The justices will also meet in a private conference on Thursday to discuss cases and vote on petitions for review, with orders from that conference expected on Monday at 9:30 a.m. EDT.