Daniel DiDonato is a student at the University of Alabama who recently turned 18 years old. Alabama will hold statewide elections in 2026, so as a potential voter, DiDonato now has a piece of the game. But even before he did, DiDonato was determined to make his voice heard. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division, rules V Alabama State Conference NAACP v. Allen that the state's maps, especially in the 25th and 26th Senate districts, violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In August, District Court Judge Anna Manasco ordered the maps redrawn.
Due to arguments before the US Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callein which Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a lawsuit amicus briefGov. Kay Ivey has refused to call a special legislative session to redraw the maps. This left the task to Richard Allen, a special master tasked with overseeing the new maps and ships. DiDonato decided that he would not only redraw these maps, but also file them in U.S. District Court for use in happening. DiDonato was not yet of age under Alabama law, so he registered the cards under his initials. Much to his (and others') amazement, District Judge Manasco ordered his cards to be used. If fully approved by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, the plaintiffs and the special master, these maps could be used in the 2026 primary election. in May.
Daniel DiDonato says he has been passionate about elections since he was a child. He remembers watching the 2016 presidential election as a fourth grader.
That's why DiDonato, an 18-year-old political science major at the University of Alabama, worked late and used a free redistricting app to draw six new maps of Alabama Senate districts and, without prior request, submitted them to federal court in a lawsuit over potential Voting Rights Act violations in Alabama Senate districts.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco ordered one of DiDonato's cards destroyed. be implemented in case.
DiDonato said in the NewsNation video interview below:
Making cards is just something I enjoy. Maps tell a story, especially election maps. And I thought this has been in the news here in Alabama for the last five years. The case eventually went to trial, with a federal court declaring that the Alabama Senate maps illegally weakened the voting rights of African Americans, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. When the government had the opportunity to do something about it, it said, “No.” Thus, responsibility fell on the federal court. Ultimately, I decided that if the court had to choose a map, I decided that I would at least send a map so that I would have the opportunity to at least shape that process.
LOOK:
Daniel DiDonato, an 18-year-old college student, tells The Hill how he reacted when a federal judge approved his legislative map of Alabama over maps drawn by political experts. DiDonato says he has joined efforts to create a fairer map for African American voters in… pic.twitter.com/Lj2hJLkbQ4
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) November 21, 2025
Daniel DiDonato, an 18-year-old college student, tells The Hill how he reacted when a federal judge cleared him Alabama state legislative map is over cards made by political experts. DiDonato says he joined the effort to create a fairer map for African-American voters in the Montgomery area.
A few lessons: It doesn't take a rocket scientist, a legislator, or a court to create a map. Perhaps this should become the rule. Concerned citizens without an agenda are probably the best bet to know how maps should be drawn to achieve voter satisfaction and bipartisan goals. DiDonato said he did not use race as a factor in creating his model.
In the redistricting software, DiDonato was able to hide partisan and racial information, allowing him to draw districts without intentional gerrymandering. His goal was to achieve equality of population between districts. As a result, the areas differ by two people.
“The legal standard is that for state legislative districts, plus or minus 5% is acceptable,” he said. “They try to keep the variation in population between districts as low as possible. The only thing my plan did was that I did everything possible to achieve exact population equality.”
According to correspondence between DiDonato, the special master, and Manasco staff, DiDonato presented his plans to the team on October 1. He was later called to a hearing on the cards on October 27 by Charles Singleton, clerk of the Federal Court for the Northern District of Alabama. DiDonato was unable to attend due to lack of transportation.
Despite DiDonato's failure to attend the hearing and the lack of comment on what he presented, Judge Mancuso chose it as the card to be used moving forward. How far ahead remains questionable. Special Master Allen, AL SOS Wes Allen and plaintiffs' attorneys are critical of the maps. Probably because the college student who didn't sleep until… 3am and eating gummy worms since the energy did the hardest work and didn't even ask for credit.
If the SCOTUS judges rule in favor of Louisiana and other states in Louisiana vs. Callas this would render this case moot since a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is the basis for these maps in the first place.
As my RedState colleague Streiff wrote:
The demand for more black-majority districts cost the GOP at least one seat in Louisiana, as well as one in Alabama. A decision making racial gerrymandering illegal would open the door to GOP lawsuits across the country and slam the door on lawsuits by Democrats seeking to overturn districts over alleged racial imbalances.
The stakes are high. The left knows if racial gerrymandering goes away, its ability to disrupt elections it's over.
Dive Deeper: A federal judge rules that maps of Alabama's largest county must be redrawn.
The Supreme Court will rule on the legality of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Finally, AL AG Marshall has joined with Texas in their redistricting casewhich argues that state legislators have the right by law to draw their maps as they see fit. Marshall is also running to replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), so his actions are also being viewed through the lens of whether he will be a fighter for Alabamians.
A lawsuit, a hungry politician, and a brilliant young man who says he wants to change things make interesting partners.
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