The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the reach of the Voting Rights Act, ruling that Alabama’s Republican lawmakers are required to sign a new electoral district likely to elect a black Democrat to Congress.

By a vote of 5 to 4, the court rejected an appeal from Alabama’s Republican lawmakers and who

said they need to draw a second district to achieve greater equality and give Black or Hispanic voters a better chance of electing a candidate of their choice.

The ruling in Allen vs. Milligan is a surprise win for civil rights advocates. They had argued that black voting rights would be “diluted” and rendered meaningless if nearly all districts were carefully drawn to preserve white majorities.

A ruling for the GOP would have helped

Republicans retain limited control of the House of Representatives.

But instead, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, along with the court’s three liberals and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, said the Voting Rights Act called for the creation of a new district that would have a

B

paint candidate.

In 1982, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to prohibit the drawing of electoral districts “in any manner that results in a denial or limitation of the right … to vote on the basis of race or color”.

But the court’s conservatives, including Chief Justice John G. Roberts, have long opposed drafting election maps based on voters’ race.

Six of

by

Alabama’s seven congressional districts reliably elect a Republican, even though approximately 27% of the state’s population is black.

Last year, a three-judge panel ruled that the state should redraw its map to create a second compact district with a near-black majority. The judges, including two appointed by President Trump, said the Voting Rights Act requires black voters to be given a meaningful opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.

But in a preliminary victory for the GOP, the Supreme Court last year blocked that decision from taking effect

and has now ruled for the Republican-controlled Alabama legislature

.

Ten years ago, in a case from Shelby County, Ala., the court

dealt a major blow to the Voting Rights Act

when it removed a provision that required many Southern states to obtain prior approval from federal judges or the Department of Justice before changing their voting rules or election maps. “Things have changed in the South,” said Chief Justice Roberts Jr. at the time, the pre-approval process established by Congress was no longer necessary or warranted.

Congress amended the Voting Rights Act in 1982 to require states to make an extra effort to ensure that blacks and Latinos had a fair opportunity “to elect representatives of their choice.” That provision was vehemently opposed by Roberts, then a junior Justice Department attorney in the Reagan administration.

In response to the amended law, judges agreed that states should consider voters’ race when drawing new districts.

This often led to party conflicts. Republicans said they opposed the use of race as a factor in drawing electoral districts, saying it was not required by the 1982 law or the Constitution. Republican-controlled states also resisted the demand to draw more districts that would elect black Democrats over white Republicans.