Court Restricts Who Can Bring Voting Rights Challenges in a Case Involving Voters with Disabilities
EIGHTH CIRCUIT JURISDICTION (ARKANSAS, IOWA, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA), JUL 28 – The ruling restricts Voting Rights Act enforcement to government officials, removing private citizens’ ability to sue for disability-based voting assistanc
- On July 28, the federal appellate court overseeing Arkansas and surrounding states overturned the prior summary judgment favoring Arkansas United, finding that individual citizens do not have the legal standing to bring claims under the Voting Rights Act related to disability discrimination.
- This ruling comes in the wake of recent decisions that have restricted the ability of private individuals to bring lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act, following the Supreme Court’s 2013 elimination of Section 5’s federal approval mandate.
- The Arkansas law at issue caps assisted voters at six per person, excluding poll workers, with the Eighth Circuit requiring state officials, not private groups, to enforce voting rights.
- The appeals panel decided 2-1 that only the government can sue under the Act, a ruling described by ACLU's Sophia Lin Lakin as "radical" and at odds with decades of precedent.
- The ruling restricts remedies for voters in the Eighth Circuit states and likely will reach the Supreme Court, potentially affecting nationwide enforcement of voting rights protections.
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Court restricts who can bring voting rights challenges in a case involving voters with disabilities
A federal appeals court panel has ruled that private individuals and organizations cannot bring voting rights cases under a section of the law that allows others to assist voters who are blind, have disabilities or are unable to read.
·United States
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Total News Sources78
Leaning Left16Leaning Right5Center48Last UpdatedBias Distribution70% Center
Bias Distribution
- 70% of the sources are Center
70% Center
L 23%
C 70%
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