High court’s Alabama ruling sparks alarm over voting rights

By LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s decision to halt efforts to create a second mostly Black congressional district in Alabama for the 2022 election has sparked fresh warnings that the court is eroding the Voting Rights Act and reviving the need for Congress to intervene. Democrats also say Monday’s decision demonstrates that the high court is becoming political. The court put on hold a lower court ruling that had ordered Alabama to redraw congressional districts to increase Black voting power. Twenty-six percent of voters in Alabama are Black, yet there will only be one majority-Black voting district in the state. The Supreme Court says it will review the case in full.