Black voters gain as Alabama gets a new 2024 U.S. House map

A line of people wait outside the federal courthouse in Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 14 for a hearing to consider new congressional districts. Federal judges had ruled that the state’s 2022 district map diluted Black voters’ power.

Kim Chandler/AP

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The lines on Alabama’s congressional map have shifted — along with some of the state’s political power.

After a high-profile legal fight that lasted roughly two years, a panel of three federal judges on Thursday picked a map that will be used when Alabamians cast their 2024 vote for who will represent them in the U.S. House.

The new map adds a second congressional district where Black voters’ preferred candidate is projected to win a majority of the time.

That’s a win for Black Alabamians — and Democrats, who tend to receive those votes.

It’s a loss for Republican leaders in Alabama who were twice rebuked by the U.S. Supreme Court.

And the shift in Alabama of one seat toward Democrats’ favor could be repeated in other states, as the precedent set with Alabama’s case is affecting similar redistricting cases elsewhere. That could make the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House harder to hold next year.

Back to the cartography board

The legal tug-of-war over Alabama’s congressional map started shortly after the state redrew its districts in 2021. Despite…