Alabama on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let it keep Republican-drawn congressional lines in place as the state continues to fight a directive to create a second district where Black voters constitute a majority or close to it
issued last week by a three-judge panel that that blocked use of the latest GOP-drawn districts in upcoming elections and directed a court-appointed special master to propose new lines for the state.
The Alabama attorney general’s office asked justices to put the order on hold while the state appeals “so that millions of Alabama voters are not soon districted into that court-ordered racial gerrymander.” The state’s request to the Supreme Court comes after the three judges refused to put their order on hold as the state appeals. The judges said state voters should not have to endure another congressional election under an “unlawful map.”