The Supreme Court cleared Alabama to eliminate a majority-Black congressional district, allowing Republicans to deploy a map that flips a Democratic-held seat. This unsigned ruling marks the first major test since the court tightened Voting Rights Act standards in April, making it harder to challenge maps as racially discriminatory.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s new framework requires challengers to prove intentional discrimination rather than showing discriminatory effects. The Alabama case previously saw a 5 to 4 decision striking down the same map, but now the court reversed a federal panel's finding that the map intentionally diluted Black voting power.

Governor Kay Ivey delayed congressional primaries in four districts awaiting this ruling. The decision enables Alabama to replace its current map—which elected Black Democrats Shomari Figures and Terri A. Sewell—with one containing only a single majority-Black district.

The ruling signals how difficult proving racial gerrymandering has become under the court's revised Voting Rights Act interpretation. Other Southern states including Tennessee and Louisiana already moved to eliminate majority-Black districts after the April decision, reshaping the electoral landscape ahead of 2026 midterms.