In a surprising victory for voting rights, the Supreme Court has ruled against Alabama, striking down Republican-drawn congressional districts that civil rights activists argued discriminated against Black voters. The five-four decision means that the heavily Republican-favored map of seven congressional districts will now be redrawn.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both conservatives, joined the court’s three liberals in the majority. By rejecting Alabama’s attempt to make it harder to address concerns raised by civil rights advocates, the court, despite its conservative majority, has stood against the dilution of Black voters’ power in states like Alabama, where voters are divided into districts dominated by white voters.
The ruling leaves room for further future challenges to the law, as Justice Kavanaugh noted in a separate opinion. However, civil rights groups, along with the Biden administration, celebrated this victory, seeing it as a rejection of efforts to undermine fundamental voting rights protections.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
