Daniel DiDonato, a newly minted adult and student at the University of Alabama, has found himself in the spotlight of Alabama's political landscape.
As a potential voter in the 2026 statewide elections, DiDonato has taken an active interest in the state's electoral map. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division, had previously ruled that the state's maps, particularly those of Senate districts 25 and 26, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Consequently, District Court Judge Anna Manasco ordered a redrawing of the maps in August.
However, due to ongoing debates in the United States Supreme Court, Alabama's Governor Kay Ivey refrained from calling a special legislative session to redraw the maps. This decision left the task to Richard Allen, a special master appointed to supervise the creation of new maps, and the courts.
As reported by RedState, DiDonato took it upon himself to not only redraw the maps but also submit them to the U.S. District Court for consideration in the case. Despite being underage according to Alabama law, DiDonato filed the maps under his initials. To his surprise, District Judge Manasco ordered the implementation of his maps. If approved by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, the plaintiffs, and the special master, these maps could be used in the 2026 primary elections in May.
DiDonato's interest in elections dates back to his childhood. He recalls watching the 2016 presidential election as a fourth-grader. This passion led him to use a free redistricting app to draw six new Alabama Senate district maps and submit them to a federal court in a lawsuit over potential Voting Rights Act violations in Alabamas state Senate districts. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco ordered that one of DiDonatos maps be implemented in the case.
In an interview with NewsNation, DiDonato expressed his enthusiasm for mapmaking.
He said, "Maps tell a story and especially election maps. And I figured that this has been in the news here in Alabama for the last five years. This case finally made it to trial, and a federal court said that Alabama's state Senate maps unlawfully diluted African-American voting power in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. When the state had the opportunity to do something about that, the state said, 'No.' So, the responsibility fell to the federal court. I ultimately decided, well, if the court was going to have to pick a map, then I figured I would at least send in a map so that I would have the opportunity to at least shape that process."
DiDonato's story serves as a reminder that it doesn't require a legislator, a rocket scientist, or even a court to produce a map. Engaged citizens without an agenda may be the best choice to determine how maps should be drawn to achieve voter satisfaction and bipartisan ends. DiDonato stated that he did not use race as a factor in creating his model. He was able to hide partisan and racial information in the redistricting software, allowing him to draw the districts without intentional gerrymandering. His goal was to create population equality between the districts, with the final districts differing by only two people.
Despite not being able to attend the hearings due to lack of transportation, DiDonato's map was chosen by Judge Mancuso to be used moving forward. However, the future of these maps remains uncertain. Special Master Allen, AL SOS Wes Allen, and the plaintiffs' attorneys have expressed criticism of the maps. This could be due to the fact that a college student who stayed up until 3 a.m. and ate gummy worms for energy did the actual heavy lifting and didn't even ask for credit.
The Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Louisiana and other states could render this case moot, as the violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is the basis for these maps in the first place. As RedState colleague streiff noted, "The requirement for additional majority-Black districts deprived the GOP of at least one seat in Louisiana, as well as one in Alabama. A decision declaring racial gerrymandering illegal will open the door to GOP court challenges across the nation and slam the door on Democrat lawsuits seeking to overturn districts because of perceived racial imbalance."
The stakes are high. The left knows if racial gerrymanders go away, their ability to disrupt elections is over. AL AG Marshall has joined with Texas in their redistricting case, which asserts that state legislators have the right under the law to draw their maps as they see fit. Marshall is also running for Sen. Tommy Tuberville's seat (R-AL), so his actions are also being viewed through a lens of whether he will be a fighter for Alabamians.
The story of DiDonato, lawsuits, ambitious politicians, and a young man who simply wants to make a difference, paints a fascinating picture of the current political landscape in Alabama.
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