Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor offered a scathing dissent after the court on Tuesday allowed Alabama Republicans to eliminate one of two majority-Black districts ahead of the midterms.
“Before the Court are two paths. Down one lies an orderly election, held under a tried-and-tested congressional map that protects Black Alabamians’ right to vote and with which all voters, elections officials, and candidates alike are familiar. Down the other lies a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians,” Sotomayor wrote in a withering 17-page dissent.
She also noted that the last-minute ruling—sent down just months before midterm elections— would “require officials to change the voter registrations of hundreds of thousand[s] of voters in just days at best, a task that Alabama previously represented would take months.”
“Just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos,” Sotomayor concluded. “Because I choose to defend the rule of law and the right of all Alabamians to participate equally in democracy, I respectfully dissent.”
The NAACP also sounded off against the decision.
“The Supreme Court continues to unleash chaos in our democratic process, and with this latest action, gives Alabama approval to use a congressional map that had previously been found to be intentionally discriminatory,” general counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement. “This is a Court that is stripping Black voters of power and voice at a speed that would put Jim Crow jurists to shame. Our message to communities remains the same—the best way to express dissent is by showing up at the ballot box this election season.”
The Supreme Court’s decision will likely force newly elected Black Democratic Representative Shomari Figures out of his seat.