Federal Appeals Court Limits Private Lawsuits Under Voting Rights Act

A divided federal appeals court has ruled that private individuals and groups, including the NAACP, do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act. The 2-1 decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals contradicts decades of precedent and could weaken protections under the landmark 1965 law. The majority argued that only the U.S. attorney general can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires political maps to include districts where minority populations' preferred candidates can win elections. The ruling, which applies to federal courts in seven states, may eventually be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.