A federal three-judge panel blocked Alabama from reverting to its 2023 congressional maps, instead ordering the state to use court-drawn maps previously adopted after earlier maps were struck down for diluting minority voting power. The decision carries immediate implications for Alabama's special primaries, as the state had moved to implement the older maps for this year's midterm elections. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall signaled an appeal.
The ruling stands in sharp contrast to a Florida decision on the same day. Leon County Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes, a DeSantis appointee, allowed Governor Ron DeSantis' Republican-friendly congressional map to remain in effect while three state lawsuits continue. Hawkes found plaintiffs failed to show a substantial likelihood of success in their challenge, noting that evidence of partisan data use was circumstantial.
These dueling rulings underscore the high stakes of a mid-decade redistricting war that could determine control of the U.S. House. In Florida, the map's ultimate fate likely rests with the state Supreme Court, where DeSantis appointed six of seven justices, all selected by Republican governors. The legal fight there began after DeSantis' general counsel argued the state need not abide by a 2010 voter-approved ban on partisan gerrymandering.
In Alabama, the panel of judges stated that their re-examination, in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, yielded the same conclusion: the 2023 maps were invalid. The Supreme Court had earlier lifted lower-court injunctions blocking the state from using those maps, but the lower court's new order effectively reinstates the court-drawn boundaries for now. If Alabama used the 2023 maps, one of its seven House seats would likely flip from blue to red.
The Alabama attorney general filed emergency motions requesting the cases be remanded after the Callais ruling, but the panel disagreed. Experts note that the pace of these legal battles leaves election officials scrambling to finalize district lines before ballots are printed.