The city of Mobile, along with a long and narrow stretch of land to the north, will be lopped off its state school board district and transferred to another district that stretches as far as Macon County, under a plan approved by the Legislature.
The finger-like protrusion of District 5 into District 1 — and the carving up of Mobile County — has generated surprise and criticism.
Lawmakers who helped draw the lines said that they were complying with federal rules that mandate districts with a majority of black voters.
"The rest of the state just didn’t have the minority population," said Rep. Randy Davis, a Daphne Republican and member of the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment.
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires states to maintain, and sometimes create, districts that concentrate minority voting strength.
District 5 is one of 2 state school board districts in which black voters represent a majority. Adding Mobile was the only way to maintain that majority, some lawmakers said.
Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, expressing adamant opposition to the new lines, said that lawmakers could have chosen an alternative that left Mobile County whole but still met federal requirements.
"I did not like the fact that Mobile County was being divided in that way," Brooks said. "I wanted Mobile County and Baldwin County, which certainly have common interests, to have a common representative."
Chickasaw City Councilman Adam Bourne wrote a complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice, urging it to reject the lines and insisting that the changes threaten the political influence of voters from his area.
"The district appears to be drawn totally for the purpose of ensuring a majority-minority district, to the exclusion of all other concerns," Bourne wrote in the email.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department must sign off on changes to voting districts in some Southern states, Alabama included.
Bourne maintained that the lines disenfranchise Mobile County Republicans added to the Democratic-leaning District 5. He said that the new lines may also diminish the sway of black voters, "as the plan simply crams all African-American voters into a couple of districts, rather than allowing for influence spread throughout the state."
Bourne also questioned whether federal rules for majority-black political districts are still necessary, given modern racial attitudes. "The country has changed in such a way the American people are obviously willing to trust an African-American president," he wrote.
Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa declined to comment on the complaint.
"As always, we welcome information and comments from the public, as well as elected officials, regarding redistricting submissions," Hinojosa said in an email.
Democrat Ella Bell of Montgomery represents District 5 on the school board; Randy McKinney, a Republican from Orange Beach, represents District 1.
Both said that most of the work they do on the board — which includes eight districts altogether — is aimed at improving education statewide. The board oversees public K-12 schools and the Alabama Community College System.
"It is not territorial at all," McKinney said. "I have never really felt that my vote was just for Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties."
At present, McKinney’s district includes just those 3 counties. The new plan adds Butler, Conecuh, Crenshaw and Covington counties to the district, as it removes part of Mobile County.
Bell noted that her current district borders Mobile County. "I certainly already am in Washington County," she said. "Mobile is, as the old folks say, a hop, skip and a jump."
McKinney said that he’s enjoyed representing all of Mobile County and doesn’t plan to stop looking out for the area just because political boundaries change.
"It may result in the area having basically 2 school board members that are overseeing what is done within that district," McKinney said.
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