Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco blocked Alabama from using its state Senate district maps in the upcoming 2026 elections. Judge Manasco ruled that the current map, implemented in 2022, is unconstitutional and violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
In redistricting, packing refers to the practice of drawing districts to minimize the voting power of a community by consolidating it into a small number of districts. While Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act enforces that denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color is unlawful, in Montgomery, lawmakers have packed the Black voter population into one district and spread the white voting population into surrounding ones — essentially stripping voting power from a majority-Black city.
Unfortunately, gerrymandering is largely familiar to Alabama residents. This is not the first time the puzzle has been rigged, but the second time in the last four years that the federal court has ruled that Alabama’s maps were drawn to decrease the political power of Black voters.
A similar situation occurred in 2022, in which the district court ordered Alabama’s legislature to redraw the map to more accurately represent the population of Black voters before the congressional elections; however, the Supreme Court paused the decision with the reasoning that it was too close to the election.
While defenders of the current district drawings argue that Montgomery does not have the population to support more than one majority-Black voting district, the Voting Rights Act supports equitable voting districts rather than perfect ones.
Alabama’s repeated scrutiny for these drawings sends a clear message: political leaders prioritize preserving political advantage rather than accurate voter representation. Each time these issues concerning discriminatory maps are brought before the court, public trust in the democratic process is chipped away. Eventually, there will be none left.
When voters feel as though their voices and ballots do not matter, voter turnout is decreased. This implication of unfair district drawings further encourages this cycle of voter suppression.
Until Alabama’s leaders stop cutting puzzle pieces in whatever ways benefit their political hold over the state, a fair and accurate representation of its population will not be represented by election results.
