Supreme Court lets Alabama use GOP-leaning map for 2026 elections
The Supreme Court’s stay keeps Alabama’s 2023 congressional map in place for now and leaves Aug. 11 special primaries on track in four districts.
The Supreme Court on June 2 let Alabama keep using its legislature-drawn 2023 congressional map while a legal challenge continues, pausing a lower-court order that would have blocked the map for now. The emergency stay is temporary and does not resolve the case on the merits.
The immediate effect is on Alabama’s special primary elections, which are still scheduled for Aug. 11, 2026, in congressional districts 1, 2, 6 and 7. Alabama election officials say those races remain on the calendar unless the courts change course again.
Why the order matters beyond Alabama
The case is part of the wider national fight over redistricting, race and the Voting Rights Act heading into the 2026 midterms. Alabama officials have said the legislature-approved map should govern; voting-rights advocates argue it dilutes Black voting power.
For Alabama voters and campaigns in the affected districts, the next thing to watch is whether the map or election schedule changes again before Aug. 11. For everyone else, the order is another sign the Supreme Court may keep shaping how House maps are drawn and challenged before the midterms.
