Supreme Court vacates Alabama map ruling, remands in light of Callais

The Supreme Court vacated the district court order requiring Alabama to use the special master map and remanded the case for reconsideration in light of Louisiana v. Callais, decided two weeks earlier. Alabama had argued that the Callais ruling fundamentally changed the VRA Section 2 analysis and that its 2023 map — which lacked a second majority-Black district — should now be permitted. The remand directed the three-judge panel to reanalyze the 2023 plan under the new Callais standards. Alabama simultaneously moved in the district court to reinstate its 2023 discriminatory map for the 2026 elections.