The 2022 elections marked the first using new voting districts drawn from updated census data. Those districts typically last for a decade, but they could be short-lived in some states.
Court challenges could force lawmakers or special commissions to draw yet another set of maps before the 2024 elections for representatives in Congress and state capitols.
That means voters who were just shifted into new U.S. House or state legislative districts could be grouped with different communities when they go to vote the next time.
Here’s a look at some places where voting districts could change, and the reasons why.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s congressional districts likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters.
The ruling means the state’s Republican-led Legislature and GOP governor likely will have to draw new U.S. House districts in which Black voters comprise a majority — or close to it — in two of Alabama’s seven districts, instead of only one.
The ruling also could lead to new U.S. House districts in Louisiana, and potentially Georgia.
While considering the Alabama case, the Supreme Court had put a hold on a similar lower court ruling that Louisiana’s districts must be redrawn to create a second majority-Black district. That’s likely to be lifted. A federal judge in Georgia last year also said some of its congressional and state legislative districts likely violated the Voting Rights Act, but no final decision has been issued.
The Alabama decision is “breathing new life” into similar cases around the country, said attorney Mark Gaber, senior redistricting director at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center.
Voting Rights Acts challenges are in the early stages in Texas. Lawsuits also allege that state legislative districts dilute the voting strength of Hispanic residents in Washington and Native Americans in North Dakota.
Though based on different legal theories, other lawsuits allege districts were drawn to the detriment of minority votes in Arkansas and Florida. The Supreme Court also has agreed to review a lower court ruling that a South Carolina congressional district discriminates against Black voters.
