Utah Court Throws Out Congressional Map, Orders Redraw

Utah Court Throws Out Congressional Map, Orders Redraw

By EditorAug 26, 2025
Utah’s redistricting fight reached a turning point on Monday, when Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that lawmakers unconstitutionally repealed the voter‑approved Proposition 4 and ordered the Legislature to enact a remedial congressional map for the 2026 cycle. Proposition 4 passed narrowly by voters in 2018 and was branded “Better Boundaries.” Prop 4 created a seven-member independent redistricting commission and required maps to meet neutral criteria, including equal population, compactness/contiguity, maintaining cities and counties together, respecting communities of interest, and forbidding the drawing of districts to favor or disfavor a party or incumbent unduly. The Legislature could enact or…
Case Updates, State Laws, Utah, , , ,
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U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision on Private Voting Rights Act Lawsuits

U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision on Private Voting Rights Act Lawsuits

By EditorJul 26, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a significant, albeit temporary, reprieve for voting rights advocates and individual litigants, putting on hold a controversial ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit holding that private plaintiffs cannot bring claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a ruling that could severely limit the ability of individual voters and advocacy groups to sue under the Act. This specific case originated from a challenge to North Dakota's 2021 state legislative map, which the plaintiffs, two Native American tribes and individual voters, argued diluted Native American voting power by…
Voting Rights Act, , , ,
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Florida High Court Affirms 2022 Congressional Map, Eliminating Former Majority-Black District

Florida High Court Affirms 2022 Congressional Map, Eliminating Former Majority-Black District

By EditorJul 18, 2025
The Florida Supreme Court’s 5-1 decision on Thursday keeps Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map intact, which splits a Jacksonville-to-Tallahassee coalition of Black voters and cements the GOP’s current 20-8 edge in the U.S. House delegation. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz called the eliminated Black district in the 2022 map a “race-based gerrymander” that violated equal-protection principles and said lawmakers had a “superior obligation” to follow federal, not state, law when race and redistricting collide. The lone dissent warned the opinion could render the amendment’s non-diminishment clause “practically ineffective.” The decision signals that Florida’s newly constituted high court…
Race in Redistricting,
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Mississippi Redistricting Litigation Update: State Officials File Appeal in Legislative Map Case

Mississippi Redistricting Litigation Update: State Officials File Appeal in Legislative Map Case

By EditorJul 13, 2025
Both the State defendants and the Mississippi Republican Executive Committee filed direct appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 3, 2025, after a federal district court invalidated the State's House and Senate maps on Voting Rights Act grounds. The case is Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP v. State Board of Election Commissioners. The NAACP suit against Mississippi’s 2022 state legislative maps began with a complaint in December 2022 alleging racial gerrymandering and Voting Rights Act violations. A three-judge federal panel denied the State’s motion to dismiss in April 2023, oversaw discovery through that autumn, and held a bench…
Mississippi, Voting Rights Act, ,
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NAACP Withdraws Voting Rights Lawsuit as Fayette County, TN Adopts New District Map

NAACP Withdraws Voting Rights Lawsuit as Fayette County, TN Adopts New District Map

By EditorJul 11, 2025
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has voluntarily dismissed its voting discrimination lawsuit against Fayette County, Tennessee, following the county commission's unanimous approval of a revised redistricting plan. The lawsuit, filed in February 2025, accused the county of intentionally diluting the voting power of Black residents through its 2021 district map, which included no majority-Black districts despite the county's population being over 25% Black. Faced with lawsuits from both the LDF and the U.S. Department of Justice, Fayette County officials swiftly responded by drafting a new districting plan. This revised map, approved unanimously by commissioners in June 2025, establishes three…
Tennessee, Voting Rights Act, ,
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Tarrant County Commissioners Seek to Defend its Commissioner District Map Against Voting Rights Act and 14th Amendment Claims

Tarrant County Commissioners Seek to Defend its Commissioner District Map Against Voting Rights Act and 14th Amendment Claims

By EditorJun 30, 2025
Tarrant County, Texas's Republican-led Commissioners Court is poised to vote on a new $250,000 contract with the conservative Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) so that the firm can defend the county against a federal lawsuit filed June 4 by Black and Latino voters claiming the new commissioner map dilutes Black and Latino voting strength. PILF received a $30,000 consulting fee in April to help design the map, which ultimately gives white, non-Hispanic residents, now less than half of the county’s population, majorities in three of four commissioner precincts. Read more at keranews.org Find us on:
Local Redistricting, Texas, , ,
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Supreme Court Delays Ruling on Louisiana’s Second Majority‑Black District, Rehearing Slated Next Term

Supreme Court Delays Ruling on Louisiana’s Second Majority‑Black District, Rehearing Slated Next Term

By EditorJun 27, 2025
On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to issue a final verdict on Louisiana’s revised congressional map, which added a second majority‑Black district following a lower court’s finding that the state’s original 2022 map violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black representation. Instead, the high court will rehear the case during its next term that begins in October. Justice Thomas included a dissent with the rehearing order. The challenge stems from non‑Black voters who argue the updated map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. A three‑judge panel blocked the map, but the Court previously permitted its use in the 2024 election…
Louisiana, Voting Rights Act, , ,
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Federal Court Rules Mississippi Legislative Maps Must be Redrawn.

Federal Court Rules Mississippi Legislative Maps Must be Redrawn.

By EditorJul 11, 2024
Mississippi's 2022 state legislative districts must be redrawn after a three-judge federal panel declared three districts violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The case is Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP v. State Board of Election Commissioners. Read the opinion and order here. While plaintiffs in this case were suing for an additional four senate districts and three house districts, the court concluded that only two senate and one house district met the requirements for a remedy under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act: "We find that three of the illustrative senate and house districts reflect minority…
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Pennsylvania: Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Individuals’ Right to Sue Under Voting Rights Act of 1965

Pennsylvania: Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Individuals’ Right to Sue Under Voting Rights Act of 1965

By EditorMay 03, 2024
Press Release: May 2, 2024 SCRANTON – The Justice Department announced that it has filed a statement of interest in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania supporting the right of private plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This filing is one of many recent briefs by the Justice Department supporting the longstanding principle that private plaintiffs are authorized to bring lawsuits to vindicate important rights protected by the Voting Rights Act. “The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and it is the right on which…
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Civil Rights Organizations File Amicus Brief in South Carolina Racial Gerrymandering Case

Civil Rights Organizations File Amicus Brief in South Carolina Racial Gerrymandering Case

By EditorAug 22, 2023
Aug. 18 2023 League of Women Voters Press Release: WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the League of Women Voters of the United States joined an amicus brief filed by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, a racial gerrymandering case to be heard before the Supreme Court of the United States this fall. The brief is also joined by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Leadership Conference Education Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Campaign Legal Center, Demos, and…
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