The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama to implement a new congressional map that would reduce the state's two majority-Black districts to one, delivering a victory for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The justices sent the case back to a lower court to reconsider the map's legality in light of the court's recent decision narrowing the Voting Rights Act.

The order represents another win for Southern Republicans seeking to reshape district lines after the court's conservative majority in late April threw out Louisiana's congressional map, raising the bar for Voting Rights Act challenges. Alabama lawmakers had urged the court to allow a map first approved in 2023 that would consolidate Black voters into a single district, arguing the current configuration improperly used race.

The current map, crafted by a special master after courts rejected the legislature's version, elected two Black Democrats to Congress in 2024—Shomari Figures and Terri Sewell—the first time Alabama sent two Black lawmakers to the House. Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the majority's decision, joined by Justices Kagan and Brown Jackson in dissent. Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation Friday enabling new primaries should the state adopt a different map, with primaries scheduled for May 19.

The court's conservative majority argued that "vast social change" and improved race relations now required a higher bar for voting rights challenges. The order came just over a week before Alabama's May 19 primary elections.