A recent decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals slammed the door on one of the last effective legal pathways for challenging racially discriminatory voting practices in seven Midwestern states. The ruling, issued by a 2-1 majority, declared that private citizens cannot invoke an 1871 civil rights statute—Section 1983—to enforce the anti-discrimination protections of the Voting Rights Act.
This move reverses a lower court’s ruling that had struck down North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting map, which was found to weaken Native American voters’ influence. With this appellate verdict, the ability of voters in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Nebraska to contest unfair voting maps faces a steep uphill battle.
The 8th Circuit’s decision builds on last year’s precedent that already limited who could bring cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, confining that power to government actors and excluding private citizens. Historically, however, most Voting Rights Act lawsuits have been initiated by private parties, not federal prosecutors.
The conservative leanings of the court played a notable role, as all three judges hearing the case were appointees of Republican presidents, with the lone dissent cautioning that the ruling could invalidate hundreds of past voting rights cases.
Civil rights advocates warn this ruling could cripple critical protections against discriminatory voting laws and potentially embolden states to redraw maps with less fear of legal pushback. The plaintiffs now face the difficult choice of whether to seek review by the full 8th Circuit or escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
In essence, this ruling signals a tightening grip on voting rights enforcement tools, further complicating efforts to ensure fair representation for minority voters in key battleground regions.
