Every other year or so, why is it that we, the American public, start hearing more news stories circulating about a threat to the Voting Rights Act? Why is that? Is it because of lawmakers like Ron De Santis, who want to roll back all progress made since before 1950 or something? Well, the story is back out there again. The reality is that there are forces in this country who would much rather not see Black people, Hispanics, and poor people have the opportunity to participate in the political process. That’s why, in some states, certain lawmakers will make up anything that they can to deny eligible voters their right to vote. It’s a crying shame.
According to an article published by the Associated Press, a divided federal appeals court on Monday, November 20, 2023, ruled that private individuals and groups such as the NAACP do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act, a decision that contradicts decades of precedent and could further erode protections under the landmark 1965 law.
The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals based in St. Louis found 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 article published by the Associated Press on No- vember 20, 2023, further states that the majority said other federal laws, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, make it clear when private groups can sue but said sim- ilar wording is not found in the voting law. “When those details are missing, it is not our place to fill in the gaps, except when ‘text and structure’ require it,” U.S. Circuit Judge David R. Stras wrote for the majority in an opinion joined by Judge Raymond W. Gruender. Stras was nominated by former President Donald Trump, Gruender and by former President George W. Bush.
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