Justice Clarence Thomas orders left-wing voting rights activists in Alabama to defend a congressional districting map that helped Democrats flip a deep-red House seat in 2024.

A three-judge district court has issued a preliminary injunction blocking Alabama from using a Republican-favored congressional district map in a special primary election scheduled for Aug. 11. The ruling disrupts the plan approved by the Legislature to use a map state lawmakers approved back in 2023 that would give Republicans a chance to reclaim the District 2 seat they lost two years ago.