Morning Digest: How Alabama opens the door to new Black-majority districts in other states

1 year ago 22

The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.

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Leading Off

Redistricting: Alabama isn't the only state on the verge of redrawing its congressional map to boost Black representation following last week's shock Supreme Court ruling. Similar litigation in Louisiana and Georgia means both states are likely to follow suit soon. That would result in a new Black-majority district in each, but what would they look like?

  • Splitting up NOLA and the capital: Republican lawmakers placed Baton Rouge and New Orleans in the same district, packing a large number of Black voters into the same seat. NAACP-backed plaintiffs instead propose having each city anchor its own district, both of which would be home to an African American majority.
  • The city with one of the nation's largest Black populations: Atlanta, known for decades as "the Black mecca of the South," could readily accommodate a fourth Black district in its western suburbs, according to a group of voters supported by a Democratic organization. As the Voting Rights Act ordains, such a district would likely allow Black voters to elect their preferred candidate—very probably a Black Democrat.
  • A distinction without a difference? Lawsuits in both states are about to crank up again thanks to the Supreme Court's decision, but Republicans will try to argue that their cases differ from Alabama's. The Louisiana plaintiffs aren't having it, noting in a letter to the justices that defendants previously claimed that the two disputes involved "identical" issues.

Read more about these cases at Daily Kos Elections and find our detailed illustrations of possible new maps for both states, along with interactive versions.

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