A group of Alabama organizations focused on civil rights and social justice filed a federal lawsuit Friday, claiming that Jefferson County has illegally packed Black voters and diluted the power of their vote.

Greater Birmingham Ministries, along with the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the Metro-Birmingham Branch of the NAACP and individual voter Cara McClure alleged that the county commissioner’s office drew maps in October 2021 that intentionally pack Black voters into two minority districts, limiting their political power.

“If this lawsuit fails, we Black voters, brown voters and poor voters will have to spend another census voting in districts that were intentionally placed to ensure that we can never elect our preferred candidates in more than two of the five commission districts,” said Greater Birmingham Ministries Executive Director Scott Douglas.

The plaintiffs are suing five county commissioners, claiming that maps intentionally dilute the power of Black voters. The lawsuit also criticizes county commissioners for keeping the process inaccessible to the public.

At the time of publishing, none of the five commissioners have replied to an email request for comment.

Districts 1 and 2 of the Jefferson County Commission are majority-Black voting districts, while districts three, four and five are majority-white voters.

The lawsuit refers to a 1985 consent decree that expanded the commission from three to five districts, creating two majority-Black voting districts. From 1931-1985, three commissioners were elected at-large and no Black person was elected during that time.

A federal lawsuit challenged that structure, creating the additional districts. Districts 1 and 2 have elected a Black candidate in every election since their creation in 1986. A Black candidate never has won an election in Districts 3, 4 or 5, which are majority-white districts.

The lawsuit claims Black voters are stripped from Districts 3, 4 and 5 and packed into Districts 1 and 2.

At the time the consent decree went into effect, District 1 had a Black population of 65.6% and District 2 had a Black population of 66.8%. Today, District 1 has a Black population of 78.27% and District 2 has a Black population of 66.18%.

In Jefferson County overall, Black voting-age residents make up 41.46% of the population, compared to 50.42% voting-age white residents.

Advocates say that under current maps, Black and minority voters in Districts 3, 4 and 5 will not get the chance to see their preferred candidates in office.

Benard Simelton, the president of the Alabama NAACP, said he often hears people say “one person, one vote,” but he doesn’t think that’s a reality for Jefferson County voters.

He said that in states like Alabama, a vote in a majority-white district “doesn’t carry the same weight because of how people vote.”