Legislative committee approves redistricting plan

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Alabama House of Representatives

An Alabama House committee approved new legislative districts late Tuesday night.

The House Constitution, Campaigns and Election Committee voted along party lines to send the plan to the House floor, despite objections from democratic members of the Black Caucus who claim the new plan continues the state’s history of racial gerrymandering in order to maintain Republican dominance.

The Legislature is tasked with drawing new district plans following a January decision from a three-judge federal court found the Legislature improperly used race as the primary factor in drawing nine House districts and three Senate districts in 2012.

The court ruled the 12 districts in question could not be used in the 2018 elections. Tweaking the lines of those 12 districts will affect other districts across the state.

Daphne-Republican, Committee Chairman Randy Davis said lawmakers worked carefully to both comply with the court ruling and be fair in creating the new maps.