The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 28, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

A 2023 decision in an Arkansas redistricting case found individual voters did not have a “private right of action” to challenge the maps. The State of Louisiana tried the same tactic in its chaotic gerrymandering case, but was refused on June 24th. It appears to be the latest legal strategy to dismantle the 1965 Voting Rights Act.   

Defying precedent, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held in a 2023 Arkansas racial gerrymandering case that individual voters do not have a “private right of action” under the VRA Section 2.  It said only the U.S. Justice Department could bring such cases, despite individuals having filed  90% of previous challenges.  Calling it “radical,” scholars expected it to be quickly overturned, but this January, the full 8th Circuit refused to rehear the case. 

Seeing an opening, Louisiana asked the full 5th Circuit to rehear its gerrymandering case on the same grounds, with 13 other Republican attorneys general urging a “no private right of action” decision.  In a close vote Monday, the 5th Circuit refused that rehearing.  

For now, the 8th Circuit decision still only affects Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. But it’s clear that private right of action is the new battleground for voting rights challenges, and will almost certainly reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

We’ve  linked to explainers on the private right of action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – The Newest Attack on the Voting Rights Act
Law360 – 8th Circ. Redistricting Ruling Imperils The Voting Rights Act
Congressional Research Service – Recent Developments in the Rights of Private
Individuals to Enforce Section 2 of the Voting
Rights Act
American Democracy Minute – Ripple Effects After Radical Federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling Restricting Who Can Bring Voting Rights Act Suits; Red State AGs Pile On
American Democracy Minute – Federal Appeals Court Denies Rehearing of Radical Arkansas Voting Rights Act Ruling Shutting Out Voters & Democracy Groups from Bringing Cases
Democracy Docket – 5th Circuit Denies Louisiana Hearing on Whether Voters Can Sue State Under Section 2

Groups Taking Action:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU Louisiana,  Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  Arkansas Public Policy Panel

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #PrivateRightofAction #RacialGerrymandering #LouisianaNews #VRA #VotingRightsAct #FreedomtoVote

The post Federal 5th Circuit Refuses Challenge to ‘Private Right of Action’ – For Now.  It’s the New Battleground to Dismantle the 1965 Voting Rights Act appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 1, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

In Nov. 2023, an 8th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s radical ruling that Arkansas voters did not have the right to sue under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  Despite being widely panned as a fringe ruling, the 8th Circuit refused to re-hear the case January 30th.  

The Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, represented by the ACLU, contested racially gerrymandered state house  maps under the Voting Rights Act Section 2.  

In 2022, an 8th Circuit federal district court ignored decades of “private right of action” precedent allowing voters, civil rights groups and democracy advocates to bring suits to protect the rights of voters.  The court restricted standing to only the U.S. Department of Justice, though for the moment, it applies only to states in the 8th Circuit:  Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.   

The decision started a chain reaction in the 8th circuit and other districts, with anti-voter state officials attempting to re-open VRA cases they had lost, including in North Dakota and Louisiana.  Other district courts refused those requests. 

Taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court would likely be a gamble, given the willingness of the court’s most conservative and radical justices to gut the Voting Rights Act. 

We have more on the case, and the groups taking action, at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – Arkansas Legislative Redistricting Challenge
ACLU – (2023) FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS RADICAL RULING IN ARKANSAS REDISTRICTING CASE
Democracy Docket – 8th Circuit Rules Private Plaintiffs Cannot Sue Under Section 2 of Voting Rights Act

Arkansas Advocate – Federal appeals court won’t rehear closely watched Arkansas redistricting case
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit – Opinion in Arkansas State Conference NAACP and Arkansas Public Policy Panel   v.  Arkansas Board of Apportionment
NPR – A federal court declines to revisit a ruling that could weaken the Voting Rights Act

Groups Taking Action:
ACLU, Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP, Arkansas Public Policy Panel

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRightsAct #PrivateRightofAction #Arkansas #EightCircuit #RacialGerrymandering

The post Federal Appeals Court Denies Rehearing of Radical Arkansas Voting Rights Act Ruling Shutting Out Voters & Democracy Groups from Bringing Cases appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 15, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

We reported in November on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision restricting lawsuits based on the 1965 Voting Rights Act to be filed ONLY by the U.S. Attorney General, seen by most court watchers as radical and ignoring precedent.  But it’s already having ripple effects across the nation.

The Eighth Circuit ruled in the Arkansas racial gerrymandering case that there was “no private right of action” for voters or Democracy groups, and only the U.S. Attorney General could bring such a case.  Immediately after, North Dakota appealed a Native American VRA case on those grounds.  

Then on December 8th, 13 Republican attorneys general from an amicus brief in a similar VRA case where the Fifth Circuit mandated an additional Majority-Minority Congressional district in Louisiana. The AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia want the Louisiana reheard in hopes it is dismissed on the same grounds.  

Citing 60 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, plaintiffs in the Arkansas case asked the Eighth Circuit December 11th for a rehearing.  Pay attention: 

This may be one of the most important voting rights cases in U.S. history, and could affect your right to vote, and to have proper representation.

We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
American Redistricting Project – Arkansas State Conf. NAACP v. Arkansas Bd. of Apportionment
American Democracy Minute – Radical Federal Court of Appeals Ruling Deals Another Blow to Voters, Democracy Groups and the Voting Rights Act
Arkansas Advocate – (Commentary) Dismissal of Arkansas voting rights suit threatens democracy
Democracy Docket – Republican Attorneys General Attack Voting Rights Act in Latest Amicus Brief
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals – BRIEF OF ALABAMA AND 12 OTHER STATES AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS’ PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC
Arkansas Times – Arkansas plaintiffs ask 8th Circuit to rehear voting rights case with national consequences
NPR – Civil rights groups appeal court ruling that threatens Voting Rights Act enforcement

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals/Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP  – PETITION FOR REHEARING AND/OR FOR REHEARING EN BANC

Groups Taking Action:
Arkansas Public Policy Panel,  Arkansas State Conference NAACP, Brennan Center for Justice, League of Women Voters US,  ACLU

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRights #VRA #VoterSuppression #FairMaps #EndGerrymandering

The post Ripple Effects After Radical Federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling Restricting Who Can Bring Voting Rights Act Suits; Red State AGs Pile On appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 28, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

A radical decision last week in an Arkansas racial gerrymandering case stopped voters and democracy groups from suing under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The State of North Dakota took advantage of the decision to appeal to have their racially discriminating gerrymandered maps restored, struck down after a lower court found they suppressed Native American voting power.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision said that only the U.S. Attorney General had standing to sue under the VRA, and the decision covers cases in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.  The fringe decision is likely to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The State of North Dakota was sued by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and individual Native voters in 2022, who argued that voting district maps were manipulated to suppress Native voting power.  As a result, for the first time since 1991 no Native American is serving in the North Dakota senate. November 17th, a federal court judge agreed, giving the state until December. 22nd to draw new fair maps. 

The Brennan Center for Justice writes that the Eighth Circuit’s Arkansas decision is likely doomed, either from an appeal with all judges presiding, or by the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Brennan Center said about the case, “It is not just wrong but shockingly so, radically out of step with the history of the Voting Rights Act and decades-old practices.”  

We have a story on the North Dakota appeal and the Eighth Circuit’s decision at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – North Dakota Legislative Redistricting Challenge (Turtle Mountain Band)
Native American Rights Fund –  COURT BLOCKS NORTH DAKOTA VOTING MAP THAT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST NATIVE VOTERS
CBS News Minnesota – In wake of Voting Rights Act ruling, North Dakota to appeal decision that protected tribes’ rights
Brennan Center for Justice – The Newest Attack on the Voting Rights Act

Groups Taking Action:
Native American Rights Fund, North Dakota Native Vote

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #EndGerrymandering #FairMaps #NativeAmericanVote

The post Radical Decision by Appeals Court in Arkansas Case Greenlights North Dakota Appeal to Restore Maps Designed to Suppress Native American Voting Power appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 22, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

A Nov. 20th federal appeals court decision ruled that only the U.S. Attorney General can bring a voting rights lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act. The decision, a radical departure from settled law, erects barriers to minority voters seeking fairness in federal court.

The 8th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to dismiss an Arkansas racial gerrymandering case, saying that there was no “private right of action” for voters, groups of voters or advocacy groups in challenges under Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  

Democracy Docket reports that the ruling applies to states covered by the 8th Circuit:  Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.  A ruling in the 5th Circuit earlier in November came to the opposite conclusion, and acknowledged the right of voters and groups to sue. 

According to a filing in the Arkansas case, in the past forty years, there have been at least 182 successful VRA Section 2 cases. Of those 182 cases, only 15 were brought solely by the U.S. Attorney General.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Milligan decision earlier this year was brought by voters and advocacy groups, suggesting that the 8th Circuit went rogue in its decision.  But in the meantime, it may affect fair maps and proper representation for millions of African American voters. 

We have links to the ruling and analysis at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
All About Redistricting –  Background on Arkansas State Conf. NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment
Democracy Docket – 8th Circuit Rules Private Plaintiffs Cannot Sue Under Section 2 of Voting Rights Act
United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit  – Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment
Democracy Docket – Who Can and Cannot Sue To Protect Voters? It Depends on This Legal Concept
Politico –  Federal appeals court ruling threatens enforcement of the Voting Rights Act
Groups Taking Action:
NAACP Arkansas State Conference, NAACP Legal Defense Fund,  ACLU Arkansas, Arkansas Public Policy Panel,  ACLU

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #EndGerrymandering #VotingRightsAct  #SCOTUS #ArkansasPolitics

The post Radical Federal Court of Appeals Ruling Deals Another Blow to Voters, Democracy Groups and the Voting Rights Act appeared first on American Democracy Minute.