# Federal judges reaffirm Alabama map ruling despite Voting Rights setback  
**Published:** 2026-05-26T22:13:35.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/federal-judges-block-alabamas-use-of-2023-congressional-map/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/federal-judges-reaffirm-alabama-map-ruling-despite-voting-rights-setback

A three-judge federal panel on Tuesday blocked Alabama from using a 2023 congressional map, ruling it was racially discriminatory and ordering the state to use a court-drawn alternative designed to give Black voters a stronger voice in elections, according to the [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/federal-judges-block-alabamas-use-of-2023-congressional-map/).

The decision came nearly a month after the U.S. Supreme Court [substantially weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf) in the case Louisiana v. Callais, and just days after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session where lawmakers approved special primaries for August. The state had expected the Supreme Court to allow use of the 2023 map.

In a 79-page opinion, the three judges—U.S. District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer, and U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus—found that Alabama's 2023 map "made it impossible not only to remediate the vote dilution we identified, but also to respect the longstanding community of interest the Legislature identified in Alabama's Black Belt."

The panel concluded that lawmakers had deliberately spread Black voters across multiple districts to dilute their voting power. "These events, along with legislators' contemporaneous statements about race, support only one inference: the purpose of the 2023 Plan was to distribute Black voters across districts to dilute their votes, at least in part because they are Black," the judges wrote.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Tuesday that he will immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, stating: "Know this — in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when." Gov. Ivey said she supports the appeal, declaring "Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best."

The ruling represents a significant victory for voting rights advocates, though it faces an uncertain fate at the Supreme Court. The panel had previously found the 2023 map violated the Voting Rights Act and imposed a remedial map that helped elect U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, to the 2nd Congressional District in 2024.

JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said in a statement the group will continue fighting for fair representation as the state pursues its appeal. "While we fully anticipate the State will continue to fight to use its racist maps to advance their partisan agenda, we will vigorously defend the right of Alabamians to elect representatives of their choosing," Gilchrist said.

The case adds to national tensions over [voting rights enforcement](https://campaignlegal.org/update/us-supreme-court-has-eviscerated-voting-rights-act-whats-next) following the Callais ruling. Since that decision, [several Southern states have moved to redraw congressional maps](https://www.npr.org/2026/05/07/nx-s1-5812921/alabamas-legislature-poised-to-adopt-new-congressional-map-after-scotus-ruling) after the Supreme Court narrowed protections for minority voters.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/federal-judges-block-alabamas-use-of-2023-congressional-map/)
- [U.S. Supreme Court Opinion - Louisiana v. Callais (04/29/2026)](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf)
- [Campaign Legal Center - The U.S. Supreme Court Has Eviscerated the Voting Rights Act](https://campaignlegal.org/update/us-supreme-court-has-eviscerated-voting-rights-act-whats-next)
- [NPR - Alabama's legislature poised to adopt new congressional map after SCOTUS ruling](https://www.npr.org/2026/05/07/nx-s1-5812921/alabamas-legislature-poised-to-adopt-new-congressional-map-after-scotus-ruling)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/federal-judges-block-alabamas-use-of-2023-congressional-map/.