OPEN: A recent court ruling could deal a death blow to the Voting Rights Act — a law that has protected the political power of Black Americans and the voting rights of minority communities for six decades. /////A federal appeals court has ruled ruled last month in a redistricting case in Arkansas that could dramatically weaken the Voting Rights Act, a law that has protected the political power of minority communities for nearly six decades. ALT: A recent court ruling could make it harder for people to challenge the state's racially discriminatory voting practices. ALT: The Voting Rights Act is the most…. but a recent court ruling could ALT: Now that voting rights have become a flash issue, a recent Arkansas court ruling could… The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed in the Supreme Court, would essentially bar private citizens and civil rights groups from filing suit under Section 2 of the law. To understand that, we need to look back at the law itself… Background to the Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965 and was one of the most important achievements of the civil rights movement. The law rolled back discriminatory Jim Crow laws that were intended to disenfranchise minority communities. It has evolved since then and almost since its adoption it has been under attack. Why Section 2 is So Important This latest ruling has implications for Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which empowers private citizens (and civil rights groups) to challenge states' racially discriminatory voting practices. Over the years, dozens of lawsuits have used Section 2 to challenge heavily gerrymandered redistricting maps. But in 2021, when voters in Pulaski County, Arkansas challenged a reapportionment that diluted the voting power of Black voters. Judge Rudofsky, a federal judge appointed by Trump, ruled that “only the Attorney General of the United States may bring suit” to enforce the section. 2. This decision, which has since been upheld by the 8th Circuit Court, strips individual voters of the ability to file lawsuits to enforce the Voting Rights Act. Legal experts and commentators say this is a very unusual interpretation of the Voting Rights Act. In his dissent, Chief Circuit Judge Lavenski Smith noted that at least 182 successful Section 2 cases have been filed in the past 40 years, of which only 15 have been brought solely by the U.S. Department of Justice. /// In the past 40 years More than 90 percent of successful Section 2 cases have been brought by individuals or civil rights organizations ///Over the past four decades, less than 10 percent of successful Section 2 cases have been brought by the US DOJ. The ruling will almost certainly be appealed in the Arkansas Supreme Court. [Several legal experts I spoke with said tktktkt] But for now, it only applies to states under the 8th Circuit's jurisdiction: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Could this impact any of these states in a way that has national resonance? Whether or not the Supreme Court upholds this Eighth Circuit ruling, we will almost certainly see more voting rights challenges in the coming months.