Federal appellate court delivers blow to voting rights activists in Arkansas

A federal appeals court delivered a blow Monday to voting rights advocates, ruling that part of the Voting Rights Act doesn’t allow litigation to be brought by them — only by the U.S. attorney general.

In litigation over alleged vote dilution out of Arkansas, the state’s NAACP chapter sued claiming Black voters were disenfranchised when lawmakers redrew the congressional map that included only 11 minority-dominated districts.

The lower court dismissed, finding that Section 2 under the Voting Rights Act only allows for such a lawsuit to be brought by the U.S. attorney general. The attorney general, though, chose not to join the litigation.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision on Monday upheld the district court’s move to dismiss. The decision will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.

“The who-gets-to-sue question is the centerpiece of today’s case. The Voting Rights Act lists only one plaintiff … the Attorney General,” wrote Judge David Stras, a Trump appointee.

The opinion reasoned there are other federal laws people can sue under when they believe they’ve been deprived of their constitutional rights.

Judge Raymond Gruender, a Bush appointee, joined the opinion.

Judge Lavenski Smith, another Bush appointee, dissented, saying there’s no reason for the court to undo decades of precedent that has allowed private citizens and groups to sue under Section 2.

“I would follow existing precedent that permits citizens to seek a judicial remedy. Rights so foundational to self-government and citizenship should not depend solely on the discretion or availability of the government’s agents for protection,” he wrote.

Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project who argued the case, said the decision was a “travesty for democracy.”

“For generations, private individuals have brought cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to protect their right to vote. … By failing to reverse the district court’s radical decision, the Eighth Circuit has put the Voting Rights Act in jeopardy, tossing aside critical protections that voters fought and died for,” she said.

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race. The legislation was enacted in 1965. States with a history of racial discrimination were subject to certain restrictions and review by the federal government when implementing election schemes and changes to help combat voter discrimination.

The Congressional Black Caucus said Monday’s ruling means people in Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota can’t bring lawsuits to protect Black voters.

“This decision by the appellate court is ill-advised, cannot stand, and should be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which we hope will reaffirm that citizens have a private right of action to bring forward lawsuits under Section 2,” the CBC said in a statement.