Andrew Garber

Tribal nations appeal ruling that ends a tool to protect minority voters in 7 states After a challenge by Republican officials in North Dakota, a federal appeals panel struck down a key way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination in seven states.

But the case isn’t over. The voters who brought this case have asked the full 8th Circuit to rehear it. They must take the case and overturn this damaging, indefensible decision. www.npr.org/2025/05/14/n... (9/9)

Historians' Amicus Brief in Nairne v. Landry A group of 4 voting rights historians represented by Mayer Brown LLP and the Yale Law School Supreme Court Clinic have filed a brief in Nairne v. Landry, an appeal involving Section 2 of the Voting Ri...

Even a willing DOJ can’t enforce the law alone: voters and groups have filed 93% of all Section 2 cases throughout its history. DOJ has always relied on private enforcement for much of the work. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/cou... (8/9)

The Department of Justice can still bring Section 2 cases but the current administration recently dismissed almost all the existing ones. (7/9)

In practice, this ruling means that voters in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota no longer have the ability to challenge racial discrimination in voting in court. (6/9)

These judges ignored the clear law and history. Instead, they applied a “magic words” test and decided the statute didn’t say them. Shockingly, they also said the Voting RIGHTS Act doesn’t provide for a right to vote. (5/9)

Congress’s well-documented intent and decades of Supreme Court history make it painfully clear that the law allows for the “private right of action,” a legal term that means voters and groups are allowed to go to court. (4/9)

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is a powerful tool to stop racial discrimination in voting. Voters and groups have successfully brought hundreds of cases under it to protect their voting rights for almost 60 years. (3/9)

First, a bit of background: 2 judges on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, in defiance of all the evidence and precedent (including their own), ruled that voters and voting groups can’t bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. (2/9)

Appeals Court Strips Voters’ Ability to File Voting Rights Act Lawsuits in 7 States For decades, voters and organizations have successfully brought lawsuits against racially discriminatory voting rules under Section 2 of the civil rights law.

Seven states in the middle of the country have, at least for now, near-free reign to pass laws and draw districts that racially discriminate against voters thanks to an astonishing court ruling. Here's why this matters. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana... (1/9)