Black Lawmakers File Objection to New Districts

African-American lawmakers in Alabama urged federal judges to reject newly redrawn legislative districts, saying Republicans used racial gerrymandering to maintain white GOP control of the state’s largest county.

The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus on Tuesday filed its objections to the plan approved by lawmakers. The caucus argued that “race is the predominant reason” some districts were extended into Jefferson County “to maintain more majority-white than majority-black districts in the Jefferson County House delegation.”

A three-judge panel ordered lawmakers to redraw legislative districts before the 2018 elections. The GOP-controlled Alabama Legislature approved new maps last month and submitted them to the court.

The caucus did not object to the redrawn lines of the majority-black districts which had been the chief concern in the lawsuit that led to the redistricting order.

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