The Supreme Court on Monday halted an order requiring Alabama to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2022 elections. A lower court had determined in late January that the new Alabama congressional electoral map disadvantages black voters and likely violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The lower court’s three-judge panel said the state should have two majority-black districts, instead of one. The congressional map, approved by Alabama’s Legislature last year, has one majority-black district. Alabama’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives consists of six Republicans and one Democrat. Alabama was given until Feb. 11 to create a new map, but it appealed the district court’s decision instead. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling (pdf) grants a stay of the lower court’s order to have the districts redrawn. “The stay order is not a ruling on the merits, but instead simply stays the District Court’s injunction pending a ruling on the merits,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by …