A federal court ruled Thursday evening (May 28) that Alabama can revert to the 2021 State Senate map previously struck down and replaced by a district court.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state of Alabama a stay against the district court’s injunction mandating the state use a court-drawn map instead of the one drawn by the Alabama Legislature after the 2020 census.
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A primary election already took place with the court-ordered map, so there will likely be a special primary for the districts affected. Districts 25 and 26, which are located in and around the city of Montgomery, are the only two districts whose boundaries change between the two maps.
In the majority opinion, the court recognizes that similar injunctions have been lifted in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
The Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in that case in April, ruling 6-3 to limit the consideration of race when drawing districts. The case stems from a majority-minority congressional district in Louisiana.
“If anything, the issues in this case more closely match the issues in Callais,” the court wrote on Thursday.
The court also noted that its ruling is not based on whether the evidence of the case supports the plaintiffs’ claims against the state but instead whether Secretary of State Wes Allen would likely be successful in an appeal.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Claire Harrison of The Alabama Daily News.
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