Alabama Republicans pitch congressional map with one majority-Black district, even though the Supreme Court mandated two

A proposal for redrawn congressional districts in Alabama has been met with criticism by leaders and advocates, who say the new map is still biased against Black residents, despite a Supreme Court order to address the imbalance.

Last month, the conservative-led Supreme Court issued an unexpected victory for voting rights advocates when it struck down Alabama’s Republican-drawn congressional map. Agreeing with a lower court, the Supreme Court said it diluted the power of Black voters by having just one majority-Black district, even though the Black population of the state, at about 28%, is large enough to warrant two. Per the court’s direction, the Legislature will have to adopt a new congressional map, with two majority-Black districts, by Friday.

But that’s not what’s happening at the state Capitol.

In a special session on Monday, the GOP-led Legislature recommended a new map that maintains only one majority-Black district, the 7th district. The proposed map would instead shift the concentration of Black voters in this district and redraw the lines of the neighboring 2nd district to include more Black voters, but not to the extent advocates had wished for, according to NBC affiliate KXAS.

The second district would increase the share of Black voters from about 30% to 42.5%. Though Republican lawmakers have acknowledged that the second district is not majority-Black, they hold that it would still satisfy the court’s directive. The reapportionment committee passed the map 14-6, The Birmingham News reported.

Rep. Chris England, a Democrat, tweeted a photo of the map Monday, writing, “Of note, this plan was not discussed in either public hearing and it has not been vetted. Also, it is not available on the legislature’s website yet.”

Evan Milligan, a lead plaintiff in the Allen v. Milligan case, said Black people in Alabama will continue to be subjected to inaccessible health care and poor job and education opportunities as a result of this voter suppression.

“We’re very concerned about even the process that produced that map,” Milligan said of the proposed map. “A process that seemed to lack accountability and a real regard for what the court ordered our Legislature to do. It’s disappointing that this happened now, given the importance of good representation in our way of life.”

Gov. Kay Ivey convened Monday’s special session last month, saying, “It is critical that Alabama be fairly and accurately represented in Washington.” The Legislature has until the end of the week to approve a new map in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision and the new map must be in place for the 2024 elections. Next, the court will review the proposal and decide whether to approve the new congressional map.

On June 8, the conservative-majority Supreme Court unexpectedly affirmed part of the Voting Rights Act by striking down Alabama’s Republican-drawn congressional map in Allen v. Milligan.

Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat and Alabama’s only Black member of Congress, represents the state’s only majority-Black district. Sewell declined to comment on the proposed map. But last month, Sewell praised the Allen v. Milligan decision and seemed hopeful that Alabama’s Legislature would finally produce a map that was fair to Black people in the state.

“Hope springs eternal that the state Legislature would heed the warning of the plaintiffs,” Sewell said to NBC News in June. “Instead of the state Legislature packing African Americans into one district, which was voter dilution,” the Supreme Court said the state of Alabama had to create another map “more in line with the percentage they are in the population.”

Alabama has been at the center of several voting rights conflicts in recent years, with advocates fighting for the state’s Black population to have more representative voting power. Although Black people make up nearly a third of Alabama’s population, the state has long had only one majority-Black district. Denying Black Alabamians fair representation in government, advocates say, means they can’t use their voting power to elect officials who will champion equity for them.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com