Supreme Court Overturns Alabama Redistricting Order, Returns Case to Lower Court

Republicans hailed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that lets Alabama revisit its congressional map three years after the court mandated a race-conscious redraw.

The high court overturned a 2023 order in Allen v. Milligan that created a second Black-population-conscious district. That district flipped Democratic in 2024. The Supreme Court returned the case to a federal court in Birmingham.

Alabama lawmakers had advanced a redistricting plan after the court ruled Louisiana's map improperly weighed racial factors. The effort succeeded late Monday.

"Our elections should be decided by Alabamians at the ballot box — not by judges in courtrooms. I appreciate SCOTUS taking action on this issue and look forward to Alabama electing its congressional representation using a map drawn by those closest to the people," Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, told Fox News Digital.

Ledbetter called the ruling a "massive victory; not just for Alabama but for conservatives around the country."

The order sends the case to a Birmingham federal court with six Trump-appointed district judges and one Obama appointee. It gives the legislature room to use the GOP-drawn Livingston Map from 2023, named for Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, which sparked the original suit.

Ledbetter said his goal was to pass the Livingston Map and let Gov. Kay Ivey approve it. That would force a broader constitutional test of race-based redistricting in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Callais.

Alabama holds a 5-2 Republican majority in Congress. Before Milligan, it had a 6-1 map with a minority-favored district covering Birmingham and the Black Belt.

Friday's legislative session turned chaotic after Republicans approved sending the Livingston resolution to Ivey. Protests erupted inside, forcing lawmakers to clear the House floor. A Montgomery source told Fox News Digital that one protester was detained.

Later Monday, Gov. Kay Ivey called special primary elections for several districts, mostly in central and southern Alabama.

"As I said at the close of our special session last week, Alabama now stands to quickly act. I will continue to say Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best," Ivey said in a statement.

The August 11 primaries affect the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts.

Republican Rep. Barry Moore holds the 1st, which runs along the Florida border through the Redneck Riviera, Flora-Bama beach area and Dothan in the Wiregrass. Democrat Shomari Figures represents the 2nd, from Mobile through Montgomery, created by the overturned Milligan ruling. Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell's 7th centers on Birmingham. Republican Rep. Gary Palmer's 6th covers Birmingham suburbs like Hoover and Leeds, plus areas near Wetumpka.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who filed emergency requests to the Supreme Court, told Ledbetter and Senate President Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, that his "job… is done." He aimed to position them for a potential 7-0 Republican map.

House Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, criticized the resolution. A Friday court filing on his behalf said, "Less than a week ago, while tornado sirens blasted and flooding forced the Alabama legislative chambers to be evacuated, an unlawful and unconstitutional bill was rammed through by White legislators."

The court sided with the legislative majority.

Marshall noted Alabama has redrawn maps based on race for years. "We have fought for years against courts forcing Alabama to sort its citizens by race, and we were right to fight. On April 29, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Louisiana vs. Callais. The court confirmed what we have been arguing for years. States cannot be forced to gerrymander by race."

"Let's be clear about what happened here. Alabama originally drew its maps around geography and communities: the Gulf Coast, the Black Belt, the Wiregrass, and a federal court punished us for it. Today the Supreme Court vindicated the state's long-held position."

The Livingston map offers Republicans a likely 6-1 edge. Marshall indicated the decision could let lawmakers push for 7-0.

"My job in this office was to put the legislature in the best possible legal position to draw a congressional map that favors Republicans 7 to 0. My office has never taken the charge of our state motto lightly," he said of Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere.

"We dare to defend our rights," Marshall translated.