The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in last week on Alabama’s battle to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the November primary elections. The court ruled in favor of the state, overturning a lower court ruling and allowing a map that favors Republicans and diminishes Black voting power to go into place.

Under last week’s ruling, the state will be able to use a congressional district map that features only one majority-Black congressional district. The state has had two majority-Black districts since 2023. This ruling will allow the state to redraw the boundaries of Districts 1, 2, 6 and 7. 

All three of the court’s liberal justices dissented to the ruling, while the court’s six conservative justices ruled in favor of the state.

In the dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor lambasted the ruling, saying it “debases the democratic process by upending Alabama’s entire election in the name of permitting Alabama to discriminate against Black Alabamians.”

The ruling came after Alabama officials requested an emergency ruling following a lower court decision at the end of May that blocked the state from implementing a congressional map drawn by state lawmakers in 2023 that featured only one majority-Black district. That map was struck down by the same federal court in 2023 for violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by diminishing Black voting power in the state, and a congressional map that featured two majority-Black districts was put in place by the court until 2030.  

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais in April prompted the state officials to challenge the court-ordered map, leading to the legal battle that resulted in last week’s Supreme Court ruling. Shortly after the Callais ruling, the Supreme Court struck down the injunction that kept the court-drawn map in place until 2030, and Alabama lawmakers passed legislation voiding the May congressional primary election results in Districts 1, 2, 6 and 7. However, the lower court’s decision in May to keep the court-ordered map in place prompted confusion among voters and congressional candidates in those districts as to which maps they would be voting under in an August special election Gov. Kay Ivey called. State officials requested a speedy Supreme Court ruling in their challenge of the May lower court decision, in hopes of resolving this issue ahead of that election. 

Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling, state officials confirmed that the Aug. 11 special election in Districts 1, 2, 6 and 7 will use the state-drawn maps. 

Following the ruling, current Second District Rep. Shomari Figures — one of Alabama’s two Black and Democratic representatives — released a statement saying the decision killed the Voting Rights Act. Figures, who is up for reelection, now faces an uphill battle in his campaign, as District 2 under the state-drawn map will become a majority-Republican district.

“The Supreme Court has now confirmed that there is no longer a Voting Rights Act in America, and states are essentially free to discriminate against minority voters with no consequences,” Figures said.

Meanwhile, Ivey celebrated the court’s decision and encouraged voters in redrawn districts to vote in the August special election.

“The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed what I have said all along and that is that Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best. Today’s decision is a win for the people of Alabama and our elections,” Ivey said.

Alabama top stories in brief

Federal judge rules in favor of state’s nitrogen gas executions

• A federal judge last week ruled against an Alabama death row inmate who claimed that the state’s nitrogen gas execution method counted as cruel and unusual punishment.
• In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks said that, while lawyers showed that there is some suffering that occurs during a nitrogen gas execution — specifically through “severe air hunger” that makes breathing difficult and painful — they failed to show “that the protocol is cruel and unusual in violation of the Eighth Amendment.”
• This ruling is the first made on the nitrogen gas method of execution, which has been used in seven executions in Alabama since 2024.
• The plaintiff in this case, death row inmate Jeffery Lee, is set to be executed on June 11 using nitrogen gas.

ALGOP to hear Tuberville residency challenge

• The Alabama Republican Party announced last week that it will hold a hearing to review claims that Republican gubernatorial nominee and current U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville does not meet the residency requirements to hold the office.
• State party leaders will be reviewing a challenge brought by Ken McFeeters, another Republican who ran for governor. McFeeters has filed three different challenges and a lawsuit related to Tuberville’s residency.
• Tuberville’s campaign has been plagued with accusations that he has not resided in the state for at least seven years — the period of residency required to become governor under Alabama’s constitution. 
• Tuberville claims that he has resided at a home in Auburn since 2018, but reporting has found that he and his wife both voted in Florida that same year. Tuberville also held a Florida driver’s license until 2023. 
• In response to the hearing, Tuberville’s campaign released income tax records. The redacted documents show that Tuberville and his wife jointly filed income taxes in the state from 2018 through 2024, with the Auburn home as their primary address.
• McFeeters and other critics say that these documents only show that Tuberville had financial ties to the state, and do not prove that he has resided in the state full-time for the past seven years.
• ALGOP’s hearing will take place on June 14.

First medical cannabis store opens in state

• Callie’s Apothecary, a medical cannabis dispensary in Montgomery, served its first customer last week, following years of delays in the rollout of Alabama’s medical cannabis program.
• State lawmakers legalized medical cannabis in 2021, allowing physicians to recommend cannabis as a treatment option for several conditions such as PTSD, chronic pain and autism. However, litigation regarding the licensing process allowing dispensaries to sell medical cannabis delayed the program. 
• Amanda Taylor, who has multiple sclerosis and has advocated for legalizing medical cannabis in the state, was the first patient served at Callie’s. As of yet, only Callie’s is operational.
• Callie’s Apothecary is one of twelve dispensaries that were awarded medical cannabis licenses by the state. 
• There are currently more than 300 patients on the state’s medical cannabis registry.

More Alabamians qualify under new WIC guidelines

• The Alabama Department of Public Health announced last week that new income guidelines mean more Alabamians will be able to access Women, Infants and Children Program benefits.
• Under new income guidelines, WIC benefits are available to mothers with incomes of up to 185% of the federal poverty level. This means a woman with one child would be able to make up to $40,034 in yearly income and qualify.
• WIC benefits are available to women who are pregnant, have had a child in the past six months, are breastfeeding or are the parent or guardian of a child up to 5 years old.
• WIC provides a $26 benefit per month for each child, as well as a $48 per month benefit for postpartum women and a $52 per month benefit for breastfeeding women, that can be used for purchasing certain foods.

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