Story perspectives

Southern Courts Uphold GOP Maps, Democrats Appeal to Supreme Court

5/13/2026

Summary

Story summary

Courts across the South upheld Republican maps and blocked Democratic proposals.
South Carolina Senate voted 29-17, two votes short of a two-thirds supermajority.
Missouri Supreme Court affirmed a map making the delegation seven Republicans, one Democrat.
Democrats filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to block Virginia’s amendment adding four Democratic-leaning seats.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey set an August 11 primary after the Court cleared a map reducing Black-majority districts.

History

Historical Context

The 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, required jurisdictions with discriminatory histories to obtain preclearance before changing election rules—a provision that forced the DOJ to approve 1,200 redistricting plans and that Court struck down in Shelby County v. Holder (2013). Courts in South Carolina, Missouri, Virginia and Alabama have allowed maps that cut Black-majority districts, reviving pre-Shelby fight over electoral equity.

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Story summary

Courts across the South upheld Republican maps and blocked Democratic proposals.
South Carolina Senate voted 29-17, two votes short of a two-thirds supermajority.
Missouri Supreme Court affirmed a map making the delegation seven Republicans, one Democrat.
Democrats filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to block Virginia’s amendment adding four Democratic-leaning seats.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey set an August 11 primary after the Court cleared a map reducing Black-majority districts.

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