Ahead of Public Hearing, NRF Continues to Support VRA Plaintiffs’ Map

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Jena Doyle

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Ahead of Public Hearing, NRF Continues to Support VRA Plaintiffs’ Map

Washington, D.C. – Today, Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), released the following statement ahead of the Alabama Legislative Committee on Reapportionment’s second public hearing as part of the state’s map redraw process following the landmark Supreme Court decision, Allen v. Milligan: 

“The Alabama legislature must pass a map that includes two districts that provide Black voters the opportunity to elect their candidate of choice. In Alabama, that means two districts where Black Alabamians make up more than 50 percent of the voting age population. The VRA Plaintiffs’ Remedial Plan accomplishes that, while providing the equal representation to voters across the Black Belt that the plaintiffs in this case have called for, and making minimal changes to the state’s current map. Any map that doesn’t include two majority-Black districts will be challenged.” 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: 

The VRA plaintiffs’ map achieves three main characteristics that make it fair and legally compliant: 

The VRA plaintiffs’ map achieves three main characteristics that make it fair and legally compliant: 

1) There are two majority-Black congressional districts: The map includes two majority-Black congressional districts, congressional districts 2 and 7. Both districts have a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of above 50 percent, which is necessary for these districts to effectively provide an equal opportunity for Black voters in Alabama as required by the VRA. Specifically, the 2nd Congressional District has a 50.08 percent BVAP and the 7th Congressional District has a 54.43 percent BVAP.  

2) All of Alabama’s Black Belt counties are protected: All of Alabama’s 18 Black Belt counties are kept within the two majority-Black districts and none of those counties are split apart among multiple districts. 

3) Most of Alabama’s original congressional map is kept intact: Congressional districts 1 and 2 were the only districts to see significant change in order to create a second Black opportunity district. Congressional districts 3, 6, and 7, maintain almost 90 percent of their current constituents. Congressional districts 4 and 5 do not experience any change. 

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