U.S. judges are narrowing voting protections. Some fear lasting damage

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/ [login to see] /u-s-judges-are-narrowing-voting-protections-some-fear-lasting-damage
The nation's premier tool to protect voting rights is in mortal danger, threatened on multiple fronts by the Supreme Court and lower-ranking federal judges, scholars and civil rights advocates say.

The latest blow to the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 came this week in Arkansas, where a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump dismissed a case over new statehouse maps. The NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the maps diluted the power of Black voters. But the judge said he found no way for the outside advocates to proceed.

"Only the Attorney General of the United States can bring a case like this one," wrote Judge Lee Rudofsky.

The ACLU said the decision flouts decades of precedent and vowed to appeal.

"This ruling was so radical that there was no choice but to appeal it," said Sophia Lin Lakin, deputy director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project. "Private individuals have brought cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to protect their right to vote for generations."