A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday in a voting rights lawsuit challenging Alabama’s system of statewide elections for appellate courts, a practice that has resulted in all-white judges.
The 2016 lawsuit contends the method dilutes the voting power of African Americans and results in all-white appellate courts in a state where one in four people is black.
The lawsuit was filed by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP and four black voters.
Alabama is asking a judge to uphold the statewide elections. State lawyers said if black candidates have been unsuccessful in recent years, it’s because they are running as Democrats in a red state.
Alabama’s appellate courts are currently all-white and all-Republican. There have been three African American judges on the state Supreme Court.
Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
