Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey approved a new congressional map Friday, passed by the Alabama legislature during a special session, which designates only one majority-Black district in the state. The approval is in defiance of the US Supreme Court ruling in Allen v. Milligan, which stated that the previous congressional map with only one majority-Black district was racially gerrymandered, therefore, violating the Voting Rights Act.

The new map, called Livingston 3, includes only District 7, with a Black population of over 50 percent. However, this does not reflect the demographics of the state. The 2022 US Census found that Black residents comprise 26.8 percent of the state’s population. Yet, as of 2020, of Alabama’s seven representatives to the US House of Representatives, there is only one Black representative, making up just 14 percent. The Black population of District 2 has increased under the new map, however, it has only increased to 39.9 percent.

Ivey celebrated the new map, saying, “The Legislature knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups, and I am pleased that they answered the call, remained focused and produced new districts ahead of the court deadline.” Former US Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Chair of the Board for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), condemned the new maps, saying:

This map, and the Republican politicians who supported it, would make George Wallace proud. It arrogantly defies a very conservative United States Supreme Court decision requiring the drawing of two Black opportunity districts in accordance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act—from just weeks ago…This is a continuation of Alabama’s fraught history with racial inequity, a history filled with Black Alabamians’ struggle for equal rights.

The new map is expected to be challenged in Federal Court.