Black Voters Sue North Carolina Over Redrawn State Senate Map

Two individuals in North Carolina have sued the state after the state Senate redrew voting districts in a General Assembly meeting last month.

The lawsuit filed Monday is challenging the new districts as violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

The suit says the new state Senate district map lines “unlawfully deprives Black voters of the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice," according to CBS 17.

Rodney Pierce and Moses Matthew filed the lawsuit, saying that Senate Bill 758 was enacted without “ample evidence of racially polarizing voting and a history of discrimination in the ‘Black Belt counties’ of northeastern North Carolina.”

Under the Voting Rights Act, the plaintiffs argue, there should be evidence of when creating maps for voting districts.

The plaintiffs say that the redrawn lines are a violation of the Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which "prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language minority groups identified." The have also requested that no future elections be conducted under the current lines and request a remedial plan be crafted to include a minority opportunity district in N.C.’s “Black Belt” counties, according to CBS 17.

The move from the pair comes as a federal appeals court on Monday issued a ruling that could threaten the strength of Section 2 under the Voting Rights Act in Arkansas after the NAACP claimed the state's redistricting plan violated the section.

But a district judge argued this kind of case could only be brought forward by the Attorney General of the United States, limiting who can make court challenges on whether or not someone's voting rights have been infringed upon.

"Did Congress give private plaintiffs the ability to sue under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act?" the ruling reads. "Text and structure reveal that the answer is no, so we affirm the district court’s decision to dismiss."