Court Invalidates Crucial Voting Rights Act Enforcement Tool

The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that private entities cannot bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a key tool used to enforce the Act. The ruling contradicts decades of legal practice, as the majority of cases brought under the Act are filed by private plaintiffs. The case originated from a challenge brought by the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. An appeal could be made to the full 8th Circuit or potentially to the Supreme Court, setting up a possible showdown over the landmark civil rights law.