A lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ new state House districts as diluting the influence of Black voters faces court dismissal unless the Justice Department joins the case as a plaintiff, a federal judge said Thursday.
US District Judge Lee Rudofsky, who was named to the bench by former President Trump, said that he can’t rule on the merits of the case and gave the DOJ five days to join as a plaintiff before he dismisses it.
Rudofsky wrote that after a thorough analysis of the federal Voting Rights Act, the lawsuit claims were violated by the challenged districts, he concluded that this case may be brought only by the US Attorney General.
The lawsuit challenging the new lines for the state’s 100 House districts – approved in December by the Republican-controlled state Board of Apportionment – was filed by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas State Conference NAACP, seeking a preliminary injunction to block them.
The redistricting plan of the panel – composed of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, and State Secretary John Thurston – created 11 majority-Black districts, which the groups challenging the map argued was too few.
Rutledge expressed in a statement his pleasure by the decision, pointing out that Arkansans can now move forward with choosing their elected representatives after the district court’s decision effectively dismissing the frivolous request of the plaintiffs to order new House district maps for the 2022 election.
Both chambers of the Arkansas Legislature are ruled by the Republicans that hold the majority.
Rudofsky’s ruling comes days before candidates in Arkansas can begin filing for legislative and state offices since the one-week filing period begins on Tuesday.
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