MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday approved new legislative districts, but only after Democrats were able to delay a vote by having the bill read aloud for 16 hours.
Representatives in the GOP-controlled House approved the districts in a 70-30 vote that fell along party lines. Republicans argued the bill fairly corrects problems identified by a federal court with current boundaries. Democrats contended Republicans rammed through a plan aimed at entrenching GOP dominance in the state and minimizing the influence of black voters.
Before the vote, Democrats requested for the 539-page bill to be read aloud. The process took 16 hours as the sound of the computerized bill reader filled the chamber for two days. Black lawmakers in the House said they requested the reading in order to make their objections known because Republicans tried to limit floor debate on the plan that is headed back for court review
“Some people are upset that we used the rules. We have to use the rules because that is all we have. We represent constituencies that have been left behind,” Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery said.
Federal judges in January ordered the GOP-controlled Legislature to redraw lines before the 2018 elections after ruling that GOP lawmakers improperly made race a predominant factor when drawing 12 districts. The ruling came after the Legislative Black Caucus and the Alabama Democratic Conference challenged the districts, arguing African-American voters were “stacked and packed” into designated minority districts to make neighboring districts whiter and more Republican.
Republican House Speaker Mac McCutcheon has said the map is designed to comply with the court’s ruling and some “ripple effect” but not make unneeded changes.
“We tried to get input from everybody. We also have looked at everything the court has ordered, and we feel like we have complied with that. From that perspective I feel like we’ve got the best piece of legislation that we can come up with,” McCutcheon said.
Major points of contention included the allowed difference in population size between districts and that some districts stretched across county lines.
The GOP-drawn map allows a two percent difference in district population size, a much lower variance than allowed in other states, Democrats argued in order to justify lines favorable to the GOP. Republicans said the closer district size is fairer to both lawmakers and voters.
Another disagreement was the splitting of counties. Democrats argued the districts of GOP lawmakers were stretched into urban counties to maintain GOP dominance on local issues.
“They can come in there and vote down everything that would benefit where I live, but they don’t live there,” Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said of lawmakers who reside outside Jefferson County but whose districts stretch into the county.
McCutcheon said counties were split in order to keep population size even between districts.
The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate.
The January ruling striking down the districts came after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a review of the plan for racial gerrymandering.
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