Supreme Court Reinstates Racial Gerrymander Lawsuit in Arkansas

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 3 revived a lawsuit that contests the boundaries of a congressional district in Arkansas that challengers say illegally diluted the voting strength of the black community.

The ruling comes days after the court rejected a claim that a congressional district in South Carolina was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

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The decision sends the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, which previously dismissed the lawsuit on May 25, 2023.

A three-judge panel of the district court rejected the challengers’ argument that the electoral map violated Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act. Section 2 prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in a large language minority group. Last year, Alabama asked the Supreme Court to weaken Section 2. The court declined to do so {snip}

The ruling comes after the Supreme Court upheld on a vote of 6–3 a congressional redistricting plan in South Carolina. In the May 23 decision, the court rejected the claim that the new electoral map was a product of race-based discrimination.

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The challengers are asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas to block the map, compel the state to develop a constitutionally compliant plan, and put the state under a preclearance regime as provided in Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act. Preclearance under Section 3 means the U.S. Department of Justice and the federal courts assign election-day monitors to polling places to ensure compliance with the law.

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