Supreme Court Upholds Voting Rights Act in Alabama Redistricting Case

In Allen v. Milligan, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 8, 2023, that Alabama's congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by packing Black voters into a single district in a state where they constitute 27% of the population. Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justice Kavanaugh and the three liberal justices, held that the lower court properly applied VRA precedent. Alabama had argued racial vote dilution claims required proof of intentional discrimination, which the Court rejected. The ruling was seen as a significant, unexpected victory for voting rights advocates who feared the Court would gut Section 2 entirely.