On Monday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) called Monday’s ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act “deeply disturbing and wrong as a matter of law.”
“This ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is deeply disturbing and wrong as a matter of law,” Rep. Sewell said. “If allowed to stand, it would be the death knell of the Voting Rights Act, stripping individuals and civil rights groups of their ability to fight back against voter discrimination in court. The Supreme Court must reverse this disastrous ruling without delay.
“I’m calling on Congress to immediately pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” said Sewell. We cannot allow extremists to strip away the remaining protections of the VRA.”
Critics argue that the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act tramples on states’ rights and would give the federal government unprecedented control over how states conduct elections.
The three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit ruled that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 does not allow private citizens or civil rights groups to sue the government over the Voting Rights Act. The panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled Monday that only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring a civil rights complaint under the Voting Rights Act.
The Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel filed a lawsuit over House redistricting lines, saying they diluted the black vote. The federal district judge who heard the case, a Donald Trump appointee, dismissed the lawsuit in 2022, ruling that the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.
A lower court said only courts assumed in the past 50 years that private citizens or groups could bring a Voting Rights Act lawsuit. Two of the three judges on the panel agreed with the lower court.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin called the ruling a “victory for our citizens and the rule of law.” “For far too long, courts across the country have allowed political activists to file meritless lawsuits seeking to seize control of how states conduct elections and redistricting,” Griffin said. “This decision confirms that enforcement of the Voting Rights Act should be handled by politically accountable officials and not by outside special interest groups.”
In Alabama, private citizens and civil rights groups sued the state, arguing that the 2021 redistricting by the state legislature violated the Voting Rights Act because the Black minority in the state only got to choose one member of the state’s congressional delegation.
A federal three-judge panel ruled that they were right and ordered redistricting by a court-appointed special master.
Monday’s decision does not apply directly to Alabama because the state is in the 11th Circuit and not the 8th, but this will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court, which likely will decide this issue for the whole country.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
