A federal court selected a new congressional map for Alabama that includes a second Black opportunity district, a consequence of the 2023 Supreme Court decision that found the state violated the Voting Rights Act when it drew new maps following the 2020 census.

The new court-imposed map creates a second Black-plurality district in southern Alabama, which Democrats should be heavily favored in: It voted 56%-43% for President Joe Biden in 2020. The court created the new district, the states 2nd, by moving the heavily white coastal region bordering Florida into the 1st congressional district and extending the 2nd district across the Black Belt, named for the rich soil that favored the crop plantations where enslaved people labored and their descendants still reside. The new district is 49% black and 44% white.

Alabama Republicans agreed to abide by the new court-drawn map, at least for the 2024 election.

The Office of the Secretary of State will facilitate the 2024 election cycle in accordance with the map the federal court has forced upon Alabama and ordered us to use, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement .

Meanwhile, Democrats hailed the new map as a win for voting rights and the Black residents of Alabama.

Todays decision affirms that Alabama will no longer have a map that dilutes the voting strength of Black citizens, but rather one that reflects the diversity of the state and ensures every communitys voice is heard in Congress, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the DCCC, the lead campaign arm of House Democrats, said in a statement.