The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Alabama to adopt a congressional map that includes two majority-Black districts, saying the current map violates the Voting Rights Act because it unfairly dilutes the power of the state’s Black residents. The 5-4 ruling upends the state’s map that was in effect for the 2022 elections and had just one majority-Black district. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, said Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act compels states to make sure their voting processes are “equally open” to all by ensuring that minorities have at least the same opportunities as others.

The court reasoned that Black voters’ power was illegally diluted when the map split them among several districts and left just one where they were the dominant political force. Alabama’s map violates the law under the court’s precedents for judging district lines, said the majority, siding with lower courts. “We agree with the District Court, therefore, that plaintiffs’ illustrative maps ‘strongly suggest[ed] that Black voters in Alabama’ could constitute a majority in a second, reasonably configured, district,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. In a searing dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas said his colleagues were encouraging “racial balkanization” of voters, prolonging the wait for a day when the country no longer considers race as a reason to allocate political power. “We ensure that the race-based redistricting we impose on Alabama now will bear divisive consequences long into the future,” Justice Thomas wrote.

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