{"id":2601565,"date":"2026-05-12T07:47:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:48:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:48:42","slug":"supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS Clears Way For Alabama To Scrap Race-Based Districts"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsupreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2601565&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>&#8211; The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 order, allowed Alabama to use a new race-neutral congressional district map for the 2026 midterms after vacating lower-court rulings.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The ruling removed results that had effectively led Alabama to maintain two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-some-democrats-concerned-their-voting-rights-bill-might-be-racist\/\" title=\"Report: Some Democrats Concerned Their \u2018Voting Rights\u2019 Bill Might Be Racist\">majority-minority districts<\/a>, which the article describes as subsets created under older interpretations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Justice Sonia Sotomayor, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented, arguing there was no reason to vacate and remand for reconsideration under the Court\u2019s newer interpretation of \u00a72 following *Louisiana v. Callais*.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Court sent the case back to lower courts to consider what effect *Callais* should have on the Fourteenth Amendment analysis and related legal questions.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The article notes Alabama\u2019s efforts to expedite the matter after the *Callais* decision and reports that Alabama\u2019s May 19 primary was expected to proceed as scheduled.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Welcome,_Alabama_Welcome_Center_(Cleburne_County).JPG\">Michael Rivera\/Wikimedia Commons\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Supreme Court Clears Way For Alabama To Scrap Affirmative Action Districts&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Supreme Court Clears Way For Alabama To Scrap Affirmative Action Districts&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Supreme Court Clears Way For Alabama To Scrap Affirmative Action Districts&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/supreme-court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-scrap-affirmative-action-districts\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Alabama to implement a new <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >race-neutral congressional map ahead<\/a> of the 2026 midterms on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/25-243_f20h.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">6-3 order<\/a>, the high court vacated a series of lower court rulings that effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/alabama-redistricting-supreme-court-congress-ba371351585b79c2965f9efb0332f33d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resulted<\/a> in the state\u2019s use of a congressional map that includes two majority-minority districts. As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/01\/dems-revive-court-packing-threats-after-being-told-they-cant-do-racist-gerrymandering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, such affirmative action districts were historically carved out under past interpretations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to Democrats\u2019 benefit. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1349573332\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the court\u2019s decision. <\/p>\n<p>In vacating the rulings, the Supreme Court remanded the matter back to the lower judiciary in light of its recent <em>Louisiana v. Callais<\/em> decision. In that 6-3 ruling, the high court <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/29\/supreme-court-smacks-down-rampant-race-based-gerrymandering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">smacked down<\/a> the use of race in the redistricting process, with Justice Samuel Alito writing that \u201clower courts have sometimes applied this Court\u2019s \u00a72 precedents in a way that forces States to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the end of April Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-243\/407724\/20260430173418087_2026.04.30%20-%20Caster%20Mot%20to%20Expedite%20FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">petitioned<\/a> SCOTUS on behalf of Secretary of State Wes Allen and other state leaders to expedite consideration of the matter given its <em>Callais<\/em> decision. The Yellowhammer State subsequently made a secondary filing over the matter late last week, shortly <a href=\"https:\/\/wset.com\/news\/nation-world\/governor-ivey-signs-special-election-bills-in-preparation-for-redistricting-legislation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">after<\/a> Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation \u201cthat would demand the governor call special primary elections for impacted U.S. House districts if the Supreme Court allows the state to utilize district lines its legislature approved in 2023 but has been blocked from using,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/alabamas-congressional-map-hinges-us-supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Writing for the dissent, Sotomayor argued that \u201c[t]here is no reason\u201d for the Supreme Court to vacate the district court\u2019s order and remand the matter \u201cfor reconsideration in light of the Court\u2019s new interpretation of \u00a72 of the Voting Rights Act\u201d in <em>Callais<\/em>. She contended that the lower court\u2019s \u201cfinding of intentional discrimination\u201d in the battle over Alabama\u2019s 2023 proposed map \u201cis independent of, and unaffected by, any of the legal issues discussed in <em>Callais<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVacatur is thus inappropriate and will cause only confusion as Alabamians begin to vote in the elections scheduled for next week,\u201d Sotomayor wrote. \u201cAs with all vacaturs of this kind from this Court, the District Court remains free on remand to decide for itself whether <em>Callais<\/em> has any bearing on its Fourteenth Amendment analysis or if its prior reasoning is unaffected by that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Responding to Monday\u2019s decision, Allen said in a statement that Alabama\u2019s\u00a0May 19 primary election \u201cwill proceed as scheduled,\u201d and that his office \u201cwill remain in close contact with the Governor\u2019s Office and the Attorney General\u2019s Office as this situation continues developing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u00a0appreciate the hard work of Alabama\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/group-our-vote-matters-is-suing-facebook-dominion-mark-zuckerberg-certain-state-officials-others-for-infringing-upon-right-to-vote-assemble-and-speak-freely-you-can-jo\/\" title=\"Group \u201cOur Vote ...s\u201d Is Suing Facebook, Dominion, Mark Zuckerberg, Certain State Officials, Others for Infringing Upon Right to Vote, Assemble and Speak Freely \u2013 You Can Join Too\">local election officials<\/a> as we continue to work towards the administration of a secure, transparent, and accountable election,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alabama\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alabama<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/congressional-maps\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">congressional maps<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/louisiana-v-callais\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Louisiana v. Callais<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/race-based-redistricting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">race-based redistricting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/redistricting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">redistricting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voting-rights-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Voting Rights Act<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court allows Alabama to use a new race-neutral congressional map for 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2601566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Alabama.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50871,16985,6994,32275,32570],"class_list":["post-2601565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-alabama-2","tag-redistricting","tag-scotus","tag-supreme-court","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Alabama.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2601565"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601569,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601565\/revisions\/2601569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2601565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2601565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2601565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}