Supreme Court rules against the Louisiana map with two Black districts: decision seen as a major win for southern states

April 29, 2026 – WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the lower court's controversial decision to require the state of Louisiana to create a second majority-Black congressional district unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that racial gerrymandering like what the federal court did to Alabama in 2023 is unconstitutional.

The 6 to 3 decision (with the three liberal justices dissenting) redefines the case law around a provision of the controversial Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Section2 of the Voting Rights Acts has been used by the NAACP and other civil rights groups to force legislatures to create new majority-minority districts.

"That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander, and its use would violate the plaintiffs' constitutional rights," Justice Sam Alito wrote of the Louisiana map.

The decision impacts congressional districts but also state legislature, state school board, county commission, county school board, and municipal districts.

The court had reinterpreted the Voting Rights Act to give Blacks and other minorities their own special districts. Later the courts ruled that putting too many minorities in a majority minority district is "packing" the district and ordered that district be unpacked to increase the voting power of the minority – at the expense of the interests of majority voters.

In 2010 the Supreme Court passed Shelby versus Holder which ruled that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requiring southern states to get preclearance from the Justice Department for any changes to voting districts or voting laws was unconstitutional. That landmark decision has gradually (but not always consistently) ceded more powers over elections to the states. Wednesday's ruling does not overturn the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but by setting new framework for section 2 Legislatures are empowered.

The question now is can southern state like Alabama redistrict their congressional districts before the 2026 election – the Alabama Republican and Democratic primaries are just 20 days away. Alabama votes 65% Republican, but due to past federal court interference in the state two out of the seven congressional districts are represented by Black Democrats.

Then there are the legislative districts. 28 of the 105 Alabama House seats are majority minority districts or are very close to majority minority. Democrats hold all of the majority minority districts but only hold one of the other 77 districts. If the federal courts allow, the Alabama Legislature could "pack" Democratic voters into as few as 15 districts – giving Republicans a real chance at a 84 to 90 seat super-majority, Democrats hold 8 of the 35 Alabama Senate seats. Senate Democrats had successfully brought a court case requiring the state to redistrict Montgomery and Elmore Counties to increase the likelihood that Democrats pick up a ninth seat – at the expense of Senator Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road). That lower court decision appears to be unconstitutional based on today's Supreme Court ruling. Will the court concur and is their time to restore the 2025 Senate districts this year and if the answer is yes does the governor call a special session? Do the May 19 major party primaries go on or does all or part of that ballot move to August? State leaders from both parties are likely meeting with their attorneys to determine what is the best way to proceed or is this an issue that is punted to the 2028 election and the new Governor?

The Alabama Gazette phoned the Alabama Republican Party seeking clarification on how the party wants to proceed. They declined to comment at this time.

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