Allen v. Milligan · ¶12

The State has also made a strong showing of irreparable harm and that the equities and public interest favor it. We have repeatedly cautioned that lower federal courts should not “alter the election rules on the eve of an election.” Re publican National Committee v. Democratic National Com mittee, 589 U. S. 423, 424 (2020) (per curiam). Here, the District Court interposed itself into Alabama's ongoing efforts to conduct its imminent 2026 congressional elections under maps that its elected representatives selected. Its view that conducting the elections under court-imposed maps would be more convenient for the State was not a valid justification for that intervention. While federal courts should not impose changes close to an election, ibid., States are free to decide for themselves whether last-minute changes to an election are in their best interests.

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