Three-judge panel blocks Alabama’s congressional districts, ordering new lines drawn
A three-judge panel has blocked Alabama’s new congressional map after lawmakers failed to create a second district where Black voters at least came close to comprising a majority, as suggested by the court MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Federal judges said Tuesday that they will draft new congressional lines for Alabama after lawmakers refused to create a second district where Black voters at least came close to comprising a majority, as suggested by the court. In blocking the newly drawn congressional map, the three-judge panel wrote that they are “deeply troubled” that Alabama lawmakers flouted their instruction to create a second majority-Black district or something close to it. A designated special master will be tapped to draw new districts for the state, the judges ordered. “This is a significant step toward equal representation for Black Alabamians,” said former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Re district ing Committee, which backed one of the cour...