Courts continue reshaping the 2026 congressional map. The Alabama VRA ruling reverberated into Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Ohio’s partisan gerrymander saga continues. Here is which legal battles are still active and how they alter the competitive landscape.
- The Alabama VRA ruling (Allen v. Milligan) required a second Black-opportunity congressional district, reducing the Republican structural map advantage by 1-2 seats in the South — the most significant court-ordered partisan rebalancing of the 2022 redistricting cycle.
- Ohio's gerrymander was struck down multiple times by the Ohio Supreme Court but was ultimately implemented anyway after the court's partisan composition changed — demonstrating that legal challenges can delay but often cannot permanently stop determined partisan map-drawing.
- Democratic gerrymanders in New York were struck down by state courts in 2022, costing Democrats 3-4 seats they had drawn for themselves; Illinois maintained its aggressive Democratic gerrymander through the cycle, partially offsetting the loss.
- The net legal battle outcome left Republicans with approximately a 3-5 seat structural advantage rather than the 5-8 that would have existed if all initial gerrymanders were upheld — a meaningful reduction but not elimination of the Republican map edge.
- Future federal litigation is limited by the Supreme Court's Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) ruling, which held that federal courts cannot adjudicate partisan gerrymandering claims — meaning state courts and state constitutions are now the primary legal check on partisan map-drawing.
Key Redistricting Cases and Their 2026 Impact
| State | Case | Issue | Status | 2026 Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Allen v. Milligan | VRA Section 2 | Remapped; new Black district in use | +1 D-leaning seat |
| Georgia | Pendergrass v. Raffensperger | VRA, 2nd Black district | New maps enacted post-ruling | +1 D seat (majority-Black) |
| Ohio | Ohio IRCA litigation | Partisan gerrymander | Contested maps still in use | 3–4 R-held seats still disputed |
| North Carolina | Harper v. Hall | Partisan gerrymander | R maps reinstated by NC Supreme Court | NC R kept advantage; D appealing |
| Louisiana | Robinson v. Ardoin | VRA 2nd Black district | New majority-Black district enacted | +1 D-leaning seat |
Alabama: The VRA Ruling That Changed Everything
Allen v. Milligan was the most consequential redistricting decision since Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), which blocked federal courts from reviewing partisan gerrymandering. The 5-4 ruling upholding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act surprised many court observers and signaled that the Roberts Court was not prepared to eviscerate the VRA entirely.
The ruling’s significance extended far beyond Alabama. It triggered immediate litigation in Georgia and Louisiana, both of which had drawn maps with only one majority-Black district despite Black populations that would support two. Both states were ultimately ordered to draw second majority-Black districts, creating new Democratic-leaning seats that will be in play for the first time in 2026.
Ohio: The Gerrymander That Would Not Die
Ohio provides the most complex redistricting story in the country. The Ohio Supreme Court, with a Democratic chief justice, rejected multiple Republican-drawn maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders in 2022. But the Republican-controlled legislature repeatedly submitted new maps that critics said contained the same core defects.
The standoff ended in a compromise: modified maps were used in 2022 and 2024 under a court-supervised process. For 2026, the maps remain contested, with Democrats arguing that three to four Republican-held districts are still improperly drawn. Federal courts have shown limited appetite for ordering further changes, and SCOTUS has signaled it will not take up state partisan gerrymandering claims under federal law.
Democratic Gerrymanders: New York and Illinois
Democrats are not innocent actors in the redistricting wars. New York’s aggressive 2021 gerrymander was struck down by the state Court of Appeals as violating the state constitution. A court-appointed special master drew replacement maps that gave Democrats fewer safe seats but created more swing districts overall. Illinois Democrats drew maps that packed Republicans into fewer districts, creating a 14-3 Democratic advantage in a state Republicans argue should be more like 12-5.
The net effect of all court interventions since 2021 has been to slightly reduce the total Republican gerrymander advantage, with the partisan lean of the full House map moving from roughly R+5 to R+2 to R+3 as measured by presidential vote share in average swing districts.
