The US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to rehear a prior appeals court decision on Tuesday, narrowing the scope for private organizations to file lawsuits under section two of the Voting Rights Act for alleged racial gerrymandering in redistricting decisions.
In the order denying the rehearing, Judge David Stras, writing for the majority, affirmed the court’s impartiality stating, “I, for one, have no doubt that the district judge, the panel, and this court have been ‘dispassionate arbiters of [the] issues’ actually ‘presented by the parties,’ even if reasonable minds might disagree about the right answer.” Judges Steven Colloton and Jane Kelly provided dissents.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which initiated the initial appeal and requested rehearing, criticized the court’s order, terming it as a missed opportunity to reverse the panel’s ruling. However, Attorney General of Arkansas Tim Griffin, who represented the Arkansas Board of Apportionment in the case, lauded the order as a win for Arkansas citizens.
The dispute started in 2021 when the ACLU, the Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP, and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel filed a lawsuit against the Arkansas Board of Apportionment alleging racial gerrymandering under section two of the Voting Rights Act in the Arkansas reapportionment plan. The US District Court Eastern District of Arkansas Central Division sided with the Arkansas Board of Apportionment in 2022, leading to the plaintiffs’ appeal and the subsequent denial of a rehearing by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This ruling arrives amidst a wave of racial gerrymandering rulings and controversies prior to the forthcoming presidential primaries and the 2024 general election in November. Last year, the Georgia Republican Legislature Leadership published its contentious redistricting maps amid ongoing section two litigation. At the same time, in North Carolina, the NAACP, Common Cause NC, and several Black voters contested the state’s newly released redistricting maps, alleging violation of section two of the Voting Rights Act. Presently, these controversies are the subject of ongoing litigation.
Further reading: US federal appeals court denies rehearing in case that may limit private organizations’ ability to file lawsuits under Voting Rights Act