Alabama Lawmakers Defy Supreme Court, Reject New Majority-Black Congressional District

Alabama Republicans have passed a new congressional map that increases the share of Black voters in one of the state's majority-white districts to about 40%, while decreasing the percentage of Black voters in the existing majority-Black district to about 51%. The map, which aims to avoid primary challenges for white Republican incumbents, will need to be approved by a federal court. Democrats and voting rights advocates argue that the map falls short of the court's mandate and predict that a special master will be appointed to oversee another redrawing. The outcome of this case will have implications for control of the U.S. House of Representatives and similar litigation in other states under the Voting Rights Act.