A federal appeals court refused to rehear a case that would bar private groups from suing under a key section of the Voting Rights Act, which safeguards against racial discrimination in elections.
A group of Arkansas plaintiffs, who are being represented by civil rights groups, challenged a redistricting plan for the Arkansas State House of Representatives that undermines the voting power of Black voters. This case has the potential to evolve into the next legal battle at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request for the case to go before the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a three-judge panel ruled last year that only the U.S. attorney general can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The panel determined that federal law does not allow private groups and individuals, who have historically filed the majority of lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act for decades, to bring legal actions because the law does not explicitly mention them. Only the head of the Justice Department has the authority to initiate such lawsuits.