Agreeing that timing just isn’t right for a dramatic change in Jefferson County Commission districts, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to pause the ruling of a federal judge in Birmingham and allow the county’s election to resume as planned.

The court agreed with Jefferson County’s argument that it is too late in the political cycle to change the district maps now.

The county attorney expressed gratitude in the court’s ruling.

“We appreciate the court understanding our concerns and granting a stay,” County Attorney Theo Lawson said. “We look forward to presenting our case.”

The appellate court’s ruling does not overturn the U.S. District Court’s decision that the county district maps approved in 2021 are illegally race-based and must be redrawn. It delayed enforcement of that ruling until the next election, not the immediate one.

Plaintiffs in the case pointed out that the stay did not speak to the merits of the commission’s appeal.

“We are confident that the facts and the law demonstrate that the current map is a racial gerrymander and that the 11th Circuit will affirm that finding,” said Kathryn Sadasivan, assistant counsel with the Legal Defense Fund. “We will continue to fight to make sure that a new map is fairly drawn. A nondiscriminatory redistricting process should be a given and not a far-off dream. The people of Jefferson County deserve nothing less.”

The appellate court stated that Jefferson County’s elections should be allowed to move forward based on a precedent in a case that ruled against making changes on the eve of an election.

“After considering these pre-election deadlines, it is clear that the Purcell principle applies in this case,” the majority opinion read. “Jefferson County’s primary election is in May 2026, but several important deadlines are even earlier. Ballots must be printed in March 2026, candidate names must be certified by February 2026, and — most immediately — candidates must reside in the district they seek to represent by November 3, 2025 — one year before the November 3, 2026 general election.”

The result, the court said, is that candidates might not know which district they should be running to represent. “That scenario is the exact ‘chaos and confusion’ the Purcell principle is meant to protect against.”

The court also ruled that plaintiffs in the case “unduly delayed” filing suit, pointing out the case against the district map was filed more than 17 months after the commission approved it.

“The district court’s injunction, given its timing, will create confusion and hardship for candidates, election administrators, and others because there is no electoral map in place mere weeks before the impending November 3 residency deadline,” the court wrote.

“But the plaintiffs vastly overstate the voter confusion that will result from a stay maintaining the status quo using the 2021 plan that has governed the last three general elections and with which voters are familiar. And they understate the diminished public confidence resulting from a last-minute remedial redistricting announcement.”

However, Justice Adalberto Jordan dissented from the opinion, saying he would have denied the request for a stay. The county knew the districts had been overturned in mid-September, and the primary election isn’t held until May, he wrote.

Primarily, Jordon wrote, the district judge who considered the case committed no legal error in her ruling. “There is no legal error here, and as a result, we may not reverse just because we ‘would have decided the (matter) differently.’”

Lead plaintiff Cara McClure said the County Commission “will do anything they can to avoid their responsibility of utilizing a map that provides fair representation for all of us in the county, not just a chosen few.”

McClure, founder and executive director of Faith and Works Statewide Civic Engagement Collective, said new district maps would be drawn eventually.

“The commission can conjure procedural hurdles all day, but they cannot delay justice when it comes knocking,” she said. “It’s high time Black voters had an equal say in our local government.”