Just Over The State Line

Just to the West of us, a huge controversy is occurring on the redrawing of Alabama's New Congressional Map. This new map is being rejected by federal judges and they are ordering them to redraw it. 

Why you may ask? Because the Alabama State Legislatures (with a Republican majority) redrew the map that only gave Black voters one congressional district where they are the majority. The panel of federal judges is giving the Alabama legislators 14 days to redraw the map to give Black voters the majority in at least two congressional districts, so that they are represented more. If they do not do so, the court stated that they will appoint someone else to do so.

 The state of Alabama's population is 27% Black and have seven congressional districts. Since Black's are over a quarter of the population, giving them two congressional districts where they are the majority will give them over a quarter of representation as well. 

"It's past time for Alabama to move beyond its sordid history of racial discrimination at the polls, and to listen to and be responsive to the needs and concerns of voters of color," Trish Gotell Faulks, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said. 

It is more than likely that the case will be appealed and make it's way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. This would address, "whether lawmakers can draw political maps to achieve a specific racial composition, a practice known as racial gerrymandering,"(Epstein, 2022). Alabama has not been the only state to get struck down this month their maps, Ohio also had an incident where Republicans gave the state a 12-3 district drawings in favor of the G.O.P.

This would be the first time in history where Black voters in Alabama would be given two congressional districts where they are the majority, so they could get more representation. For decades, Alabama has only has one democratic representative, but with this change, minority groups will finally get some representation that they deserve. Not a lot, but a good stepping stone for the future.  

References:

Chandler, Kim. (2022). Alabama's New Congressional Districts Map Blocked by Judges. AP News.

        https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-alabama-race-and-ethnicity-legislature-redistricting-

        911cfdda84f55956e15a189782d319bb

Epstein, Reid. (2022). Court Throws Out Alabama's New Congressional Map. The New York Times.         

        https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/politics/alabama-congressional-map-redistricting.html