The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to reconsider a troubling decision that blocks individual voters and groups such as the NAACP and the League of Women Voters from challenging discriminatory voting practices or maps in court under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). Missouri is part of the 8th Circuit, along with Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota, where VRA cases – including one in Missouri – are now on hold.

Since the VRA's inception, voters and advocacy organizations have brought the vast majority of challenges to discriminatory voting laws  – nearly 90 percent. But in this case, a divided panel of the 8th Circuit ruled in November that only the U.S. Attorney General can bring these cases, a conclusion that goes against every other ruling on this issue. If the Supreme Court rubber stamps the Arkansas decision, millions of minority voters protected by the VRA and LWVMO and other organizations working to safeguard their voting rights could no longer bring any case under Section 2 of the VRA. The League believes voters who are directly affected by voter discrimination must be able to bring their claims.

The Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) has launched an advocacy campaign to educate the public on how this case will impact our rights. For more information, see MOVPC’s Fact Sheet or go to TJCoalition.org.