The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 does not allow private people to sue over alleged discrimination based on race
“The who-gets-to-sue question is the centerpiece of today’s case.”
A federal appellate panel narrowly ruled on Monday that a key provision in the Voting Rights Act (VRA) does not allow people outside the federal government to sue over alleged electoral discrimination based on race.
The 2-1 opinion, if it stands, would sharply limit the ability for private citizens to challenge state voting laws under the VRA’s Section 2, which states that any measure that “results in a denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen of the U.S. to vote an account of race or color” is illegal.
“Did Congress give private plaintiffs the ability to sue under [Section] 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, of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote in the ruling, which upholds a previous decision in a 2022 redistricting case in Arkansas.
“The who-gets-to-sue question is the centerpiece of today’s case,” Stras, who was named to the bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote.
