ICYMI: Alabama’s Representative Map Drives Voter Turnout in New Black Opportunity District

For Immediate Release
March 7, 2024
Contact
Tomas Graglia
graglia@redistrictingfoundation.org

Washington, D.C. – This week, in the first congressional election in Alabama since the landmark victory in Allen v. Milligan, Democratic primary voter turnout in Alabama’s second congressional district, the state’s new Black opportunity district, saw an extraordinary increase. With 95 percent of precincts reporting, 57,129 voters cast ballots in the AL-02 Democratic primary — an increase of 133 percent over the 2022 Democratic primary in Alabama’s second congressional district, when just 24,478 voters cast ballots. 

This year, Alabama has a representative congressional map with an additional Black opportunity district as a result of a legal challenge brought by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC). As a result of the new map, Alabama could have two Black Members of Congress representing the state simultaneously for the first time in history following the 2024 general election in November. 

“It’s clear that Alabama’s representative map is a boon for political participation. That’s great news for democracy, ” said Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the NRF. “When voters know they have the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, they are more motivated to show up to the polls and fulfill their civic duties.  The extraordinary increase in voter turnout since Allen v. Milligan not only highlights the power of fairness in our electoral system, but also that previously gerrymandered maps were detrimental to voter turnout and discouraged voters from engaging in the political process altogether.”

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