High court sends Alabama redistricting case back for review

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court says a lower court must take another look at whether Alabama’s Republican-led legislature relied too heavily on race when it redrew the state’s voting districts.

The justices split 5-4 across ideological lines Wednesday in ruling that a three-judge panel did not properly consider whether state officials illegally packed black voters into too few voting districts to limit minority political power.

Justice Stephen Breyer said the lower court should have reviewed claims of racial gerrymandering on a district-by-district level, not just statewide. He also said the court didn’t apply the right test when it found that race wasn’t the primary motivating factor.

State officials say they had no choice but to concentrate black voters in some districts, making neighboring seats more white and apt to elect Republicans.