Federal Judge Orders Jefferson County to Redraw District Map, Citing Racial Gerrymandering
Appeal of 139 page ruling is likely
A federal judge has ruled that Jefferson County’s 2021 district map violates the U.S. Constitution and must be redrawn to add another Black-majority district, setting up a significant shift in how Alabama’s largest county elects its leaders.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala, an Obama appointee, found that race “predominated” when the Jefferson County Commission revised its five districts after the 2020 census, a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a detailed 139 page order issued after a four-day bench trial, Haikala concluded that the County failed to show that race-based decisions were necessary under the Voting Rights Act. Her ruling blocks use of the current map in future elections.
Under the 2021 plan, two districts were drawn with Black voting-age populations of 75 and 63 percent, while the remaining three districts had Black populations of roughly 26, 26, and 13 percent. Haikala said the map “packed” Black voters into the two majority districts, weakening their influence in the other three.
Civil rights groups, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), celebrated the decision. The LDF argued in McClure v. Jefferson County Commission that the map diluted Black voting strength and failed to reflect the county’s changing demographics, where the Black share of the population has climbed above 40 percent.
County leaders have defended their process, saying the 2021 map followed population shifts and long-standing federal consent decrees designed to guarantee at least two districts where Black voters could elect candidates of their choice. “We believe we acted in accordance with applicable law,” officials said when the lawsuit was filed.
Residents who joined the suit countered that two super-majority Black districts were not enough to provide fair representation. They argued that Black voters were effectively fenced out of influence in Districts 3, 4, and 5.
The ruling will almost certainly reshape Jefferson County politics ahead of the next County Commission election in November 2026. Creating a third Black-majority district could make at least one of the three remaining seats more competitive and could tilt the balance of power on the five-member Commission, where Democrats already hold two of the seats guaranteed by earlier consent decrees.
Given voting trends, Republicans could face tighter races in districts that have leaned safely red. Campaign strategies, fundraising, and candidate recruitment will all need to adjust once new lines are drawn. Appeals by county officials are very possible and could delay final boundaries, but the court has made clear the current map cannot stand.
Haikala’s decision builds on recent redistricting battles across the South. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in Allen v. Milligan required Alabama to create a second majority-Black congressional district. A pending Louisiana case, Louisiana v. Callais, could further refine how courts weigh racial considerations in map-drawing. Together, these rulings reinforce that while race can be considered to comply with the Voting Rights Act, it cannot be the dominant factor without strong justification.
Recently, SCOTUS requested additional briefs in Callais from all parties to address a very specific question: Does Louisiana‘s intentional creation of a second majority‑Black congressional district violate the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments? The “non-African American” plaintiffs in Callais have argued that the new two‑district map was itself a racial gerrymander, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Among those filing amicus briefs in Callis has been the Alabama Republican Party, in support of the plaintiff’s position.
The key issue before the Court in Callis is whether compliance with the Voting Rights Act can itself trigger constitutional violations. Should SCOTUS rule that this is indeed the case the legal logic underpinning Milligan and all other cases of a similar nature—including the current resulting against the JeffCo Commission map—would be cast into doubt.
SCOTUS is scheduled to rehear oral arguments in Callis on October 15.
Jefferson County now faces a complex redraw and the possibility of federal oversight to ensure the new map meets constitutional standards. Whether the Commission appeals—as seems likely—or works quickly to craft a new plan, the County’s political map, and the contests it shapes, are set for a dramatic change before voters head to the polls in 2026.
And that assumes that Callis doesn’t upend decades of legal rulings and send everyone scrambling.
The full ruling may be read HERE.
