Rep. Neil Rafferty says that Supreme Court decision allowing Alabama to implement it's own redistricting map is, "A heartbreaking and disastrous moment"

May 12, 2026 – BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6 to 3 ruling, vacated the injunction that was preventing the state of Alabama from implementing the 2023 Congressional redistricting map that the Alabama Legislature had passed. State Representative Neal Rafferty (R-Birmingham issued a statement lamenting the decision.

"Today's ruling marks a heartbreaking and disastrous moment in our nation's history as this Supreme Court cleared the way for widespread and perpetual racial gerrymandering in blatant defiance of the spirit and letter of the Voting Rights Act," stated Rafferty. "No explanation or justification was given for their reversal. What makes this especially egregious and disgusting is the fact that voting in Alabama is already taking place for the May 19th primary and it's highly likely that those votes will be tossed aside in the affected districts. Not to mention all the wasted taxpayer dollars that will be spent for the sole purpose of denying Black voters their constitutional right to be heard and for their votes to count."

"Black voters make up roughly 30% (28%) of Alabama's population and they deserve the right to elect the candidates of their choice and not have their voting power diluted," Rafferty continued. "Black voters deserve fair representation and I will continue to fight against all forms of voter suppression. But right now, it's time for people to mobilize, to organize, to engage, and most importantly, to vote and encourage others to vote. We cannot be overcome by despair, we must gather up our strength together and redouble our efforts to ensure that fairness and justice ultimately triumph."

Rafferty claimed, "Our democracy is at stake and we must take action now. Like so many others have said, 'If your vote doesn't matter, why are they trying so hard to take it away from you?'"

Rafferty faces a competitive May 19 Democratic primary. Rafferty, who is White, represents a majority Black district in Birmingham. He faces Joseph J. Holt – a Black digital creator. Rafferty is the only openly gay person in the Alabama Legislature. He is Marine Corps veteran who fought in the Iraq War.

The May 19 Congressional primary results in Congressional Districts 1, 2, 6, and 7 are likely to be nullified by Governor Kay Ivey (R) in the coming days. A new primary (with no possibility of a runoff) is likely to be called by the Governor using the Congressional District map prepared by the Alabama Legislature in 2023. That map was overturned by a three-judge panel from the federal appeals court in Atlanta. When Alabama refused to submit a new map (the court had already rejected two maps) the court imposed a map drawn by its paid special master. That map divided multiple communities of interest including: the gulf coast, the Wiregrass, the Montgomery River Region, and Tuscaloosa County. The state has been in federal court appealing this usurpation of states rights since 2023. The Supreme Court ruling two weeks ago in Louisiana versus Callais ruled that gerrymandering based on race is unconstitutional. The states rights victory in Louisiana v. Callais was followed up by the court on Monday with a the vacation of the ruling in Allen v. Milligan (the Alabama case).

Sources are telling the Gazette that the new congressional primaries in congressional districts 1, 2, 6, and 7 will most likely take place in late July or sometime in August. The Supreme Court vacated the Milligan decision and remanded it back to the lower court in Atlanta. States rights advocates have long argued that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an unconstitutional usurpation of states rights by the federal government. In 2010 the Court in the landmark Shelby v. Holder ruling found that Section 5 of the VRA (the preclearance section) was obsolete. The court's latest interpretation of Section 2 restores even more leeway to the states in how they perform their Constitutional redistricting function.

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