SCOTUS to Get Yet Another Chance to Weaken VRA with North Dakota Case 

In a case where the 8th Circuit has severely weakened the Voting Rights Act (VRA), Native American voters in North Dakota are preparing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after the federal appeals court ruled that private individuals cannot bring lawsuits under Section 2 — the part of the Voting Rights Act that bars racially discriminatory voting laws.

On Wednesday, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Native voters asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause the implementation of its decision, warning that the ruling puts “every American citizen” in danger of losing their ability to fight racial discrimination in voting.

“Plaintiffs intend to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court to resolve this circuit split on a question of exceptional importance,” the motion states. “There is a reasonable probability that at least four Justices will agree to grant Plaintiffs’ petition for certiorari.”

If the Supreme Court agrees with the 8th Circuit’s ruling, it could end voters and private groups’ ability to file Section 2 lawsuits, leaving only the U.S. Department of Justice with power to enforce one of the most important protections in federal civil rights law.

The 8th Circuit is now in direct conflict with the 5th, 6th and 11th Circuits, as well as every single three-judge district court that ruled on the issue, according to the motion.

“Outside of this circuit, every American citizen can rely on an unbroken line of Supreme Court and circuit precedent to enforce the individual rights conferred by Section 2,” the motion argues. “There is no other circuit in the country in which private plaintiffs are unable to enforce their rights under Section 2.”

Late Update, 7/15: Native voters have officially asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

In an emergency application filed Tuesday, the plaintiffs asked the justices to block the 8th Circuit’s ruling from taking effect while they plan to seek full review from the Supreme Court. They argue the 8th’s Circuit decision “extinguished the only remaining pathway for private enforcement of Section 2 of the VRA in the Eighth Circuit” and that the “Plaintiffs face potentially urgent harm in the absence of a stay.”

They contend that unless the mandate is paused, the state’s previously invalidated legislative map — found to dilute Native American voting power —will be reinstated, potentially disqualifying at least one elected Native legislator from serving.