A three-judge federal panel has just invalidated Alabama’s 2023 GOP-backed congressional map for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, blocking the state from using it and sending the dispute directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling reverses Alabama’s attempt to implement a redistricting plan that would have eliminated a Democratic-leaning Black-majority district in southeastern Alabama. Under the court-ordered remedial map currently in effect, the state has two majority-Black congressional districts—a configuration that enabled Democrats to flip one seat in the 2024 election.

Alabama officials announced they will immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Attorney General Steve Marshall described the blocked map as “blandly unobjectionable,” while Representative Shomari Figures, who won the seat under the current map, called the ruling a step in the right direction but warned that the battle is far from over.

The case stems from Alabama’s effort to revise its congressional map after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Allen v. Milligan, which found the state’s original plan likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters’ political power. Alabama’s legislature drew a new map with one Black-majority district, claiming it met federal standards.

However, the federal court rejected that replacement as containing intentional race-based discrimination and failing to create a second majority-Black district where Democratic candidates could compete effectively. The panel ruled the state must continue using the 2024 court-approved map until the Supreme Court resolves the appeal.

This dispute is part of a national redistricting conflict fueled by President Trump’s push for GOP-friendly maps in key states, while Democrats and voting rights advocates have fought to protect minority representation through federal courts.

With election deadlines approaching, any delay in the Supreme Court’s decision could force Alabama’s 2026 elections to proceed under the current court-ordered map.