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The Supreme Court invalidated Thursday in the Allen v. Milligan case that an electoral map drawn up by state legislators in Alabama after the 2020 Census, and found that the state’s redistricting plan for its seven House seats likely violated a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and the right to vote of African Americans in the state.
In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the high court refused to accept arguments from Republican officials in Alabama that they would have made more difficult to challenge congressional and state legislative maps that dilute the power of minority voters, under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act 1965.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits voting rules that result in a denial or reduction of the right to vote because of racial discrimination.
In this case, an attempt was made to address the concerns raised by civil rights defenders who denounced that the power of black voters in states like Alabama is being diluted by dividing voters into districts where white voters dominate.
Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined Roberts in the majority, while Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett dissented.
The Court ruled against Alabama lawmakers, which means that the map of the seven congressional districts, which heavily favors the Republicans, will now have to be redrawn.
the attorney general merrick garland praised the Supreme Court decision and reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to protecting the right to vote.
“Today’s decision rejects efforts to further erode fundamental voting rights protections and upholds the principle that in America, all eligible voters should be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote without discrimination based on their race,” it said. Garland in a statement.
The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow.”
Merrick Garland, US Attorney General.
Activists from civil rights groups and their supporters, including President Joe Biden, commented on this unexpected victory.
“Today’s decision confirms the basic principle that voting practices should not discriminate on the basis of race, but our work is not done.” Biden said in a statementin which he also again called on Congress to enact new voting rights legislation.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson applauded the Supreme Court for rejecting what he characterized as an effort to suppress the black vote. “This decision is a victory for black America and a triumph for our democracy,” he said.
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