A win...is a win?

A federal three-judge panel has blocked Alabama from using a new congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections, the New York Times reports.

The district lines “intentionally discriminated based on race in violation of the Constitution,” wrote the judges in Tuesday’s ruling. “We cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination.”

The judges said they reviewed the case through the lens of the Supreme Court’s latest voting-rights decisions but still found that Alabama’s proposed lines crossed a constitutional line.

Not only did the new map discriminate against Black voters, but it would have also been too disruptive to implement this close to Election Day. For now, the ruling will maintain the state's earlier court-ordered map.

Steve Marshall, Alabama’s attorney general, immediately announced that he would appeal to the Supreme Court. “Know this—in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when,” Marshall said in a statement, per NBC.

Alabama Republican leaders have pushed for a redraw that could have shifted the balance of power in Congress, and Gov. Kay Ivey had already scheduled special primaries in districts affected by the proposed map.

The decision comes as redistricting fights have intensified nationwide after the Supreme Court’s recent Louisiana ruling narrowed the path for maps drawn to support Black representation.

The map would weaken Black voting power in a state with a long history of redistricting battles, while state officials have maintained that they are trying to follow the court’s evolving guidance.

The clash leaves Alabama in the middle of a larger national scramble over congressional lines that could shape control of the House in November.

“This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before this fight is settled,” said Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in a statement on Tuesday.

For now, the ruling is a victory for Democrats…albeit a temporary one.