The unsigned decision did not state a reason, though in a concurrence Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he had concerns about the election calend
Alabama is comprised of seven congressional districts, meaning it elects seven people to the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the 2020 census, 27% of the population of Alabama is African-American. Last November, the Republican-controlled legislature of Alabama approved redistricting maps that packed most of its Black citizens into a single congressional district, giving 27% of the state's population just 14% of the state's representation in Congress.
"The maps appear to protect Republican supermajorities in state government. Republicans hold six of seven congressional seats; six of eight state school board seats; 77 of 105 House seats and 27 of 35 Senate seats. None of the congressional districts appear to be competitive."
The maps were challenged in federal court. Challengers argued that the maps violated Section 2 of what's left of the Voting Rights Act, which still prohibits "racial gerrymandering" that dilutes the voting rights of minorities. (Last year the U.S. Supreme Court gutted Section 2, but this provision is still intact.) One prohibited practice is "packing," which is when those who draw redistricting plans compress minority communities into a small number of districts.
On January 24, 2022, a panel of three federal judges--two of whom were Trump appointees--ruled unanimously that Alabama had done just that. In a detailed 225-page decision, the court held that Black Alabamians had "less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect the candidates of their choice to Congress," and that the challengers were "substantially likely" to prevail in their arguments that the plan violated the VRA. It barred Alabama from using the redistricting maps, instructed the state legislature to draw new redistricting maps that did not violate the VRA by February 11, and appointed a special master to draw legal maps in the event the legislature failed to do so.
Alabama promptly appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and sought emergency relief. Yesterday, on a 5-4 vote, the Court issued an unsigned order staying the lower court's ruling without explanation, thereby allowing Alabama to use the redistricting maps.
