Group challenges ruling that potentially weakens the Voting Rights Act
EMERGENCY DOCKET
Group challenges ruling that potentially weakens the Voting Rights Act
By Amy Howe
on Jul 15, 2025
A group of plaintiffs challenging North Dakotas state legislative maps came to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the justices to block a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit that could weaken the power of the federal Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs, which include two Native American tribes and several individual voters, told the justices that the 8th Circuit is the only area of the country in which private plaintiffs cannot enforce Section 2 of the VRA, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.
The decision by the court of appeals, along with its ruling in a separate case involving redistricting in Arkansas, the plaintiffs said, upend sixty years of practice and knee-cap Congresss most important civil rights statute something that is especially harmful to Native Americans and these Plaintiffs in particular in light of North Dakotas long and sad history of official discrimination against Native Americans that persists to this day.
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Recommended Citation: Amy Howe,
Group challenges ruling that potentially weakens the Voting Rights Act, SCOTUSblog (Jul. 15, 2025, 5:44 PM),
https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/group-challenges-ruling-that-potentially-weakens-the-voting-rights-act/