A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the NAACP can’t sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act

A federal appellate court upheld a lower court decision dismissing an NAACP challenge to Alabama ’s 2021 redistricting plan.

The decision left Democrats and the left-wing press deriding the decision as rolling back “increased minority power and representation in American politics” Yet, given that for approximately 50 years courts have assumed private parties could sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act , the split 2 -1 decision seems likely to be reconsidered by the entire federal circuit court.

If the holding stands, however, it will tee up the question of who can sue to enforce the VRA to the conservative-majority Supreme Court .

The Eighth Circuit concluded that Supreme Court decisions that assumed Section 2 created a private right of action were not controlling, with the language merely dicta.

The NAACP has two choices now: It can ask the entire Eighth Circuit to rehear the case or seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court .

Of course, the better and more appropriate route would be for Congress to address the issue.