Latest news with #JemmaStephenson
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama may pause redistricting efforts until 2030 to avoid federal oversight
The front of Hugo L Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama on August 15, 2023. (Jemma Stephenson/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Attorney General's Office said Wednesday the state may forgo drawing new congressional district maps before 2030 to prevent federal oversight of future redistricting. The state made the argument during a meeting with a three-judge federal panel and attorneys for plaintiffs who successfully challenged two congressional maps drawn by the Legislature in 2021 and 2023 that the panel said earlier this month showed intentional discrimination against Black voters. The plaintiffs asked the panel to consider preclearance under the Voting Rights Act as a possible remedy. Preclearance would require federal approval of any changes to election laws. Alabama was subject to preclearance from 1965 to 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the relevant section of the Voting Rights Act that dictated preclearance for areas with histories of voting discrimination. But the law does allow courts to impose it as a remedy. Less than two hours before Wednesday's hearing, attorneys for the state filed a court document stating that while they 'maintain their arguments about the necessity and constitutionality of any remedial plan,' legislative leaders 'will voluntarily forgo any rights that they may have to attempt to draw an additional congressional district map as part of remedial proceedings in this case.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'We have been talking to the state about the possibility of perhaps resolving some or all of the remedial issues in this case, and that we would like the court to give us an opportunity to continue to have those discussions if they prove fruitful,' said Deuel Ross, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund representing the plaintiffs, during the status conference. Federal court: Alabama Legislature intentionally discriminated against Black voters in redistricting Jim Davis of the Alabama Attorney General's Office said during the status conference that, though subject to appeal, the state agrees that the map drawn by a special master would be the final remedial map. 'There have been a few discussions,' Davis said to the three-judge panel. 'It's possible that it could influence the briefing, possibly even resolve some issues.' A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with the Alabama Attorney General's office. The three-judge panel set a June 9 deadline for parties to file a joint written report on the status of the case and the possibility of resolving outstanding issues, including a request to place Alabama back into federal preclearance. 'Either we're going to sort of settle things and resolve this case, or we're going to continue on with our request for preclearance in this,' Ross said in a phone interview after the status conference. The federal court ruling found that the Alabama Legislature had ignored previous orders to create a congressional map with two districts where Black voters would have a substantial opportunity to elect their preferred candidate. Alabama has had at least one majority-Black U.S. House district – the 7th – since 1992, but plaintiffs argued that it failed to give proper representation to Black Alabamians, who make up about 27% of the state's population but, with a single majority-Black district, only made up 14% of Alabama's U.S. House delegation. The three-judge panel struck down the 2021 map in 2022, ruling that racially polarized voting in Alabama meant that Black Alabamians could not select their preferred leaders. The judges ordered the state to draw a new map, a move the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in 2023. That summer, the Republican-controlled Legislature approved a map with one majority Black district and one district that was 40% Black. The judges sharply criticized the Legislature and appointed a special master who drew a map where two of Alabama's seven U.S. House districts — the 2nd and the 7th – have majority-Black or near-majority Black populations. This map was used in the 2024 elections, resulting in the first time in history that Alabama elected two Black U.S. Representatives simultaneously. The court Wednesday also provided a hearing schedule for the preclearance issue if a settlement is not reached. The state would file its brief by June 16, and the plaintiffs would have until June 23 to respond. Intervening legislative defendants would have until June 27 to file a reply. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Witness challenges Black Belt, Mobile ‘community of interest' in Alabama redistricting case
The front of Hugo L Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama on August 15, 2023. A witness for the state argued against linking Mobile and the Black Belt as a single community of interest, saying historical racism isn't the only factor in demographic disparities. (Jemma Stephenson/Alabama Reflector) BIRMINGHAM — A witness for the Alabama attorney general's office said historic racism might play a role but isn't the only factor in achievement gaps between demographics in a trial over the state's congressional map on Friday. Kentucky State University political science professor Wilfred Reilly, who authored three books criticizing progressive politics, suggested historical racism does not mean Mobile and the Black Belt can be considered the same community of interest today. 'There's some relationship [between Mobile and a Black Belt county] … The relationship is lesser than the relationship between Mobile County and Baldwin County,' Reilly said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX His testimony was met with skepticism from attorneys for plaintiffs seeking to preserve a 2023 congressional map that created one majority-Black Alabama congressional district and one near-majority one in the interest of ensuring adequate representation for Black Alabamians. 'None of your papers focus specifically on the political environment below the Mason-Dixon Line. Correct?' Brittany Carter, an attorney for the plaintiffs, asked. He said 'not as a primary focus.' 'You're not a professional expert on Southern politics, correct?' Carter asked. He said 'no.' She then asked if any of his academic research focused on Alabama politics, to which he also said 'is correct.' The attorneys questioned his expertise in redistricting and community identity. Under cross-examination, Reilly said he had not conducted extensive research on Alabama's redistricting history or specific state policies. 'I don't hold myself out as an expert on redistricting,' he said. The plaintiffs' counsel also pressed him on his methodology, pointing out that his report did not incorporate widely accepted academic definitions of communities of interest. When asked whether he had reviewed Alabama's redistricting guidelines before his deposition, he said, 'that is correct.' Reilly's testimony came near the end of a two-week trial over the state's congressional maps. The maps were put in place by a three-judge federal panel after an almost two-year battle that went to the U.S. Supreme Court twice. The courts ruled that racially polarized voting patterns in Alabama — where white Alabamians tend to vote for Republicans and Black Alabamians tend to vote for Democrats — meant that a 2021 congressional map approved by the Legislature prevented Black Alabamians, who make up about 27% of the population in the state, from meaningfully participating in the election process. The court ordered the creation of a second majority-Black district 'or something quite close to it,' and rejected a map from the Alabama Legislature, which they said failed to address Voting Rights Act violations. Reilly's testimony also addressed the concept of communities of interest, a key issue in the case. The plaintiffs argue that Mobile and the Black Belt, both home to significant Black populations, share common social and economic interests and should be linked in a congressional district. Reilly contended, however, that shared historical racial discrimination does not necessarily mean these regions constitute a single political community today. Using labor and commuting data, Reilly said that Mobile County has closer economic and social ties to Baldwin County, a majority-white area, than to Black Belt counties. 'Well, 71% of the people who work in Mobile County live in Mobile County, prominently including the city of Mobile itself. About 13% live in neighboring Baldwin County,' Reilly said, adding that Black Belt counties each account for about 1% of people who work in Mobile. But Baldwin County's population is significantly higher than any county in the Black Belt. With about 253,500 residents, Baldwin County is about 17 times more populous than Washington County, which borders northern Mobile County and has a population of about 15,000. They also questioned his data, including his reliance on non-peer-reviewed literature and publicly available real estate metrics, like the real estate website Zillow. 'You didn't rely on any peer-reviewed studies concerning the identification of communities of interest, correct?' Carter asked. The trial is expected to conclude next week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal trial over Alabama's congressional map begins in Birmingham
The front of the federal Hugo L Black Courthouse taken on August 15, 2023. A trial over Alabama's redistricting maps began on Monday. (Jemma Stephenson/Alabama Reflector) BIRMINGHAM — A federal trial over Alabama's congressional map opened Monday with questions over whether Black voters in Mobile share stronger political and economic ties with other Black residents in the state's Black Belt or with nearby Baldwin County, a predominantly white area. The answers to the questions could determine the fate of Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, currently configured with a near-majority Black population to give Black Alabamians living there a better opportunity to select their preferred leaders. Shalela Dowdy, a plaintiff in the Milligan v Allen case and an Army major and Mobile native, testified that Black residents in Mobile and the Black Belt share economic, social and historical bonds that justify being grouped in the same congressional district. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Dowdy, during cross examination, said she would 'not necessarily agree' there's a connection between Mobile and Baldwin County 'besides the two counties being located next to one another.' A federal court in October 2023 approved a new congressional map drawn by a court-appointed special master that created a majority-Black district and a near-majority Black district. The approval came after an almost two-year court battle in a case that has gone to the nation's highest court twice. The courts ruled that racially polarized voting patterns in Alabama — where white Alabamians tend to vote for Republicans and Black Alabamians tend to vote for Democrats — meant that a 2021 congressional map approved by the Legislature prevented Black Alabamians, who make up about 27% of the population in the state, from meaningfully participating in the election process. The court ordered the creation of a second majority-Black district 'or something quite close to it,' and rejected a map from the Alabama Legislature, which they said failed to address Voting Rights Act violations. The plan, drawn by Special Master Richard Allen, created a 2nd Congressional District running from Mobile County through the southern Black Belt and to the Georgia border, with a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of 48.7%. It also created a 7th Congressional District in the western Black Belt and Jefferson County with a BVAP of 51.9%. Elections have taken place in each of the newly-drawn districts while the lawsuit proceeded. U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, won the 2nd Congressional District seat last November. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, won her eighth term in Congress in the newly-drawn 7th district boundaries. Robert Clopton, a Mobile resident and president of the NAACP Mobile chapter, also testified about Black communities in Mobile and the Black Belt sharing deeper cultural, economic, and historical bonds, focusing on how remnants of segregation are still alive in both Mobile and the Black Belt. 'Sunday is a very, very, very segregated day in the city of Mobile,' he said, later adding that he's also been to numerous churches in the Black Belt and did not remember 'one white person in the congregation.' William Cooper, a districting expert consulting plaintiffs, said that Alabama's Black population is 'sufficiently large and geographically compact' to support a second majority-Black district and provided several illustrative maps that include maps both more compact than both the former 2023 map and the 2024 map in effect while adhering to districting principles. In cross-examination, state attorneys referenced Cooper's deposition, noting that he previously said a community of interest cannot exist 'solely on the basis of race.' Cooper said his illustrative maps respect communities of interest while also creating two majority-Black districts. He added that his plans kept more counties intact than the state's enacted plan, noting that one of his maps 'better respects the Black Belt than the 2023 plan does,' referring to keep most Black Belt counties together. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
