A federal judge has found that Alabama’s state Senate map violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of Black Alabamians in and around Montgomery.

In a recent ruling, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco sided with several groups—including the ACLU, NAACP, Legal Defense Fund, and Southern Poverty Law Center, SPLC—who argued that Alabama’s 2021 state Senate districting plan violated the Voting Rights Act by splitting up Black communities in the Huntsville area while simultaneously packing Black voters into a single state Senate district around Montgomery. While Manasco upheld the current map makeup in the Huntsville area, she ruled that the Montgomery-area Senate district must be redrawn.

Manasco wrote in her ruling that a new map must be drawn with an additional Montgomery-area district where Black voters “comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it.”

“The appropriate remedy is a redistricting plan that includes either an additional majority-Black Senate district in the Montgomery area, or an additional district there in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a senator of their choice,” Manasco wrote.

In accordance with the ruling, Alabama will be barred from using its current state Senate map in the 2026 elections. If the state has not redrawn a map that adheres to the federal court’s findings by that time, then the court will redraw the districts itself.

The ACLU and SPLC celebrated the court’s ruling Friday, while continuing to insist that the Huntsville-area districts must also be redrawn.

“We are pleased that the court recognized the injustice in Montgomery and is requiring Alabama to fix its unlawful redistricting. While we are disappointed that Black voters in Huntsville will continue to be denied fair representation, the fight is far from over,” said ACLU Voting Rights Project Deputy Director Davin Rosborough.

“This decision isn’t simply a victory for Black voters in Alabama, but all voters in the state. The courts have reviewed the evidence and concluded that the Alabama State Legislature systematically diluted the voting power of Black Alabamians by drawing unfair districts,” added Jack Genberg, senior supervising attorney, Democracy and Voting Rights Litigation Team, SPLC. “This ruling underscores the urgent need to reform our redistricting process and restore meaningful voter participation to ensure fair and equitable rights for all people of this state.”

Representatives of the NAACP and LDF expressed similar sentiments regarding the court’s ruling.

“This decision proves that when we challenge injustice, we can make progress. Alabama must now draw fairer districts in Montgomery, but let’s be clear—leaving Huntsville untouched still denies many Black Alabamians their rightful representation,” said Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP. “We celebrate this win while demanding the state finish the job and deliver maps that are fair to our communities.”

“Today’s decision is a hard-fought victory for Black voters in Montgomery who deserve fair representation in the Alabama Senate,” said Deuel Ross, director of litigation at LDF. “The court’s decision recognizes that, even today, the State continues its terrible history of discriminating against Black voters. While we welcome this win, leaving the Huntsville district in place illustrates that voters must continue to fight for their voices to be heard.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has yet to indicate if the state will appeal the court’s ruling.