Supreme Court temporarily blocks ruling that would undermine Voting Rights Act

The Supreme Court blocked an appeals court ruling that would weaken the Voting Rights Act, a controversial civil rights law that tends to favor Democrats.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh had “temporarily blocked the lower court ruling a day before it was due to go into effect, giving the justices more time to decide what next steps to take,” CNBC reported.

Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the court’s decision, saying they would have denied the request to pause the 8th Circuit’s ruling.

The case was brought by Native American tribes in North Dakota who sued to overturn the state’s legislative maps. The appeals court’s decision said that private groups cannot enforce Section 2, a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

Voting Rights Act

The appeals court’s ruling is significant because the majority of Section 2 complaints have been brought by private plaintiffs. The appeals court’s ruling, if eventually upheld, would mean that only the Justice Department can enforce Section 2.

While preliminary in nature, the Supreme Court’s decision may signal that the court, “which has a 6-3 conservative majority, may not be inclined” to eliminate the private right of action, CNBC noted.

The case is Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe. 

Section 2, which can be privately enforced, requires the creation of majority-minority districts in some cases to ensure that racial minorities can elect candidates of their choice.

While considered a linchpin of American democracy by many, the Voting Rights Act has its critics. Some say its remedies for racial discrimination go too far and that they have been abused for partisan advantage.

Race-conscious redistricting

Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the court’s most conservative members, has said the Voting Rights Act is racially divisive and likely illegal.

In a 1994 opinion, Thomas lamented that a law meant to eradicate Jim Crow-era injustices “has grown into something entirely different.”

“In short,” Thomas added, “few devices could be better designed to exacerbate racial tensions than the consciously segregated districting system currently being constructed in the name of the Voting Rights Act.”

The Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act in the past, but in 2023, the court took observers by surprise when Kavanaugh and John Roberts joined with the liberal wing to uphold Section 2 in a dispute over redistricting in Alabama.

As a result of the court’s ruling, Alabama was forced to draw up an additional majority-minority district. But Kavanaugh suggested in a concurring opinion at the time that racially based redistricting “cannot extend indefinitely into the future.”

The post Supreme Court temporarily blocks ruling that would undermine Voting Rights Act appeared first on Conservative Institute.