A new voting rights case potentially could transform the way voting rights are litigated in the courts, as it is bubbling up to the Supreme Court. Recently, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits the “denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color through voting qualifications or prerequisites,” does not explicitly grant a private right of action. This means that individuals or advocacy groups who believe a state is violating a voter’s rights cannot bring a lawsuit – only the federal government can do so. The case in question involves a local NAACP group in Arkansas, which is suing the state over redistricting maps that the group says discriminated against Black voters. The Eighth Circuit ruled that the group needs to convince the Justice Department to take up their case.
Legal experts believe the case is likely to make its way up to the Supreme Court, giving the justices the opportunity to examine the Voting Rights Act in a presidential election year. The ruling currently applies only to federal courts covered by the Eighth Circuit, but there are several pending lawsuits by private groups challenging political maps across the country. Justice Neil Gorsuch has indicated that the Supreme Court needs to decide if Congress assumed a private right of action in the Voting Rights Act or not. An expert in election law believes the Supreme Court is likely to resolve the issue since the Eighth Circuit just agreed that there isn’t a private right of action.
Lawyers are unsure whether the Supreme Court would affirm the Eighth Circuit’s decision, should it decide to take up the case. The Legal Defense Fund, a civil rights group, criticized the Eighth Circuit’s decision, asserting that it means individuals who experience voting discrimination on account of their race will be prevented from suing under the Voting Rights Act. This case could set up a timeline for the case to be decided during a presidential election year.