The Supreme Court on May 11 vacated a lower court injunction that had required Alabama to use a court-drawn congressional map containing two majority-Black…
The Supreme Court on May 11 vacated a lower court injunction that had required Alabama to use a court-drawn congressional map containing two majority-Black districts, clearing the way for the state to proceed under a Republican-drawn map that eliminates one of those districts [1]. The order arrived as Alabama's May 19 primary was already in progress, compressing the timeline for any further legal challenge [1]. The Court's conservative majority issued the order without extended written explanation, applying the standard it articulated in its recent *Callais* decision [2].
The case, *Allen v. Milligan*, has generated prolonged federal litigation over Alabama's congressional map following the Court's 2023 ruling that the state's original district lines likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act [1]. The lower court, responding to that earlier ruling, ordered Alabama to draw a remedial map with a second majority-Black district [1]. Alabama's Republican-controlled legislature and Attorney General Steve Marshall resisted compliance, and the state sought relief at the Supreme Court after the lower court imposed a court-drawn alternative [2]. The May 11 order sends the case back to the lower court for reconsideration under the *Callais* framework [1].
Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored a written dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, arguing that the majority's intervention circumvents the remediation process the Court itself previously mandated [1]. The dissent signals a firm division on the Court over how *Callais* redraws the boundaries of VRA Section 2 litigation [1]. Alabama, following the vacatur, scheduled a special primary for four congressional districts on August 11 under the 2023 Republican-drawn map [2].
The ruling's practical effect is immediate. The 2023 Republican map, which advocacy groups and the lower court found likely to dilute Black voting power in Alabama, now governs the 2026 cycle unless lower courts act after remand [2]. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and aligned plaintiffs face the burden of re-litigating their claims under a more restrictive standard before a congressional election that is already underway in partial form [1]. Legal observers expect the *Callais* standard to generate parallel disputes in other states with pending VRA redistricting litigation before the November 2026 midterms [2].
The remanded proceedings before the lower court represent the next formal milestone. How that court applies *Callais* on remand will signal whether any path to a second majority-Black Alabama district remains viable under current doctrine [1].
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**Meta Description:** The Supreme Court vacated Alabama's court-ordered redistricting map, sending the VRA case back under *Callais* as an August special primary looms.
**Slug:** supreme-court-vacates-alabama-redistricting-injunction-callais
**Tags:** Legal News, Court Records Disclosed, Allen v. Milligan, United States, Alabama, Washington D.C., Voting Rights Act, Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, U.S. Supreme Court, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Alabama Attorney General's Office, Sonia Sotomayor, Steve Marshall
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**Metadata:**
– subject: Allen v. Caster / Allen v. Milligan (Alabama Redistricting Post-Callais)
– subject_type: Court Records Disclosed
– date: 2026-05-11
– jurisdiction: federal
– country: USA
– region: Alabama; D.C.
– city: Washington
– key_people: Sonia Sotomayor, Steve Marshall, Kay Ivey
– key_organizations: U.S. Supreme Court, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Alabama Attorney General's Office
– themes: Voting Rights Act, Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering
– significance: The vacatur applies the new *Callais* standard to block a court-ordered remedial map, accelerating Republican redistricting in Alabama and setting precedent for VRA Section 2 litigation across the country ahead of the 2026 midterms.
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**References:**
[1] Howe, A. (2026, May 11). Court clears way for Alabama to use congressional map blocked by lower court as racially discriminatory. *SCOTUSblog*. https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/05/court-clears-way-for-alabama-to-use-congressional-map-blocked-by-lower-court-as-racially-discrim/
[2] Associated Press. (2026, May 11). Supreme Court halts order on Alabama's U.S. House map, giving GOP an opening to gain seat. *PBS NewsHour*. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/supreme-court-halts-order-on-alabamas-u-s-house-map-giving-gop-an-opening-to-gain-seat