3 days ago
Three-judge federal panel upholds Arkansas congressional redistricting
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A three-judge panel for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas upheld Arkansas congressional redistricting on Friday.
The ruling on a summary judgment ends the lawsuit filed in May 2023 by the Christian Ministerial Alliance against then-Secretary of State John Thurston. The suit alleged racial discrimination in redrawing the second district.
Three-judge panel yet to make decision in Arkansas redistricting lawsuit
A significant part of the complaint was that, in the 2021 redistricting, Pulaski County was divided into three districts, rather than being in one district as it had been previously. The plaintiffs argued that by fragmenting a Black community, the redistricting was racial discrimination.
The court's Friday order states, 'the evidence does not back up their claims of racial discrimination' and grants summary judgment to Thurston.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin praised the court's decision.
'The District Court's ruling is consistent with the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, in which the high court wrote that a party must first disentangle race and politics if it wishes to prove racial motivation rather than partisanship,' Griffin said, adding, 'It is critical that our electorate maintain faith in our election process, and this ruling confirms that our congressional districts are legal and proper.'
Federal court rules for Arkansas House redistricting case to go forward; AG, NAACP react
A three-judge panel heard the case due to federal law about redistricting cases.
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