Appeals court rules private groups can’t file lawsuits over key Voting Rights Act section

Roll Call -  A divided federal appeals court ruled Monday that advocacy groups can’t file lawsuits under a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that they have long used to combat discrimination in election laws and legislative maps. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit upheld a district court opinion that threw out a legal challenge to a redistricting map for Arkansas’ state house. The Arkansas State Conference NAACP and Arkansas Public Policy Panel filed the lawsuit that argued the lines diluted Black voting strength. “Did Congress give private plaintiffs the ability to sue under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act? Text and structure reveal that the answer is no, so we affirm the district court’s decision to dismiss,” Judge David Stras wrote for the majority.