As noted by the voting rights organization Democracy Docket, another lawsuit has been filed that challenges the redistricting process that was undertaken in Arkansas after the last census. The new case is in federal court and focuses on the redistricting done for the state’s slate of Congressional districts, a process that left Pulaski County, which contains the state capital, evidently spread across three districts.
The effect, the case argues, is a straightforward example of pushing down the voice of the state’s Black residents, who in this area — and perhaps others — may now find it substantially more difficult to actually see candidates preferred by their community elected and entering into office. Plaintiffs in the new case include an organization called the Christian Ministerial Alliance and a group of Black residents of Pulaski County. That affected county has a large Black population, reaching over 38 percent of the total, according to QuickFacts data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The portion of Pulaski County’s residents who are Black is over twice the portion of the state’s population as a whole who are Black.
The new case argues that Arkansas Republicans have perpetrated violations of Constitutional provisions including the 14th Amendment and wants Arkansas to be placed in the future under requirements that such changes receive approval from the federal government before local authorities actually implement the shifts. Though the Supreme Court essentially eliminated most of the opportunities for requiring such prior approval in a decision issued some years back, limited exceptions remain for cases in which there is a judicial finding of a violation of provisions including that amendment. Read more at this link.
