The U.S. Supreme Court may face another redistricting decision after a federal court in Alabama temporarily blocked a Republican initiative to redraw the state’s congressional map.

Black voters’ attorneys have challenged this redistricting battle, which could allow a Republican to occupy a Democratic-held U.S. House seat in November’s midterm elections. This effort mirrors similar drives supported by President Donald Trump nationwide. A three-judge panel issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday. The state might contest this decision at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has previously dealt with similar cases, including one in Texas.

Newsweek contacted Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen and the plaintiffs’ attorneys for comment via email.

Alabama Redistricting Injunction: What To Know

The court has mandated that Alabama use the same court-ordered districts from the 2024 election. Attorneys for Black voters argue that the state’s proposed map was deliberately discriminatory.

In 2023, the same panel made a similar ruling after the case began in 2021. They contended that the state’s map breached Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by concentrating most Black voters into a single district, thereby not creating a second district for them to choose a candidate. Federal courts have consistently sided with these plaintiffs.

In 2022, a three-judge panel determined that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed. They ordered Alabama to redraw its map to incorporate a second majority-Black district. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this decision in the 2023 Allen v. Milligan case. With a 5–4 decision, the court reaffirmed Voting Rights Act protections against racial vote dilution.

Nonetheless, Alabama’s legislature proposed a new map in 2023, which included only one majority-Black district. This led to further court actions. A federal court once again blocked the plan, imposing a court-drawn map featuring two Black opportunity districts used in the 2024 elections. In 2025, after a full trial, the court ruled that the state’s map violated the Voting Rights Act and represented intentional racial discrimination under the Constitution.

This brings the case to its current stage before the 2026 midterms. On May 11, 2026, the Supreme Court intervened again. This time, it did not rule on the case’s merits. Instead, it nullified the lower court’s 2025 decision. The case was sent back for reconsideration following a separate ruling, Louisiana v. Callais, which redefined the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.