The
Alabama House split along party lines Monday in approving new House
districts supported by a Republican majority aiming to increase its grip
on the Legislature.
The House voted 66-35 for the GOP-backed House districts after
rejecting four different district plans proposed by Democrats. The
Senate also worked Monday on new Senate districts. Like the House, it
rejected several Democrat-backed proposals and was planning a vote on
districts supported by Republicans before adjourning for the night. Democrats
said the Republican plans pack black voters into minority districts and
reduce the number of black voters in some districts represented by
white Democrats, which will make it harder for them to get re-elected.
In recent years, legislative districts that are overwhelmingly white
have tended to vote Republican.
“It’s almost like they are trying
to create a white GOP and a black Democratic Party,” Senate Minority
Leader Roger Bedford of Russellville said.
In the House, one black
Democrat, Rep. Barbara Boyd of Anniston, accused Republicans of “making
black districts blacker in order to get rid of white Democrats.”