LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A group of voters and a coalition of religious leaders asked a federal court on Tuesday to strike down Arkansas’ 2021 U.S. House map as unconstitutional, saying it dilutes the influence of Black voters in the Little Rock area.
The lawsuit by three Pulaski County voters and the Christian Ministerial Alliance is the third that’s been filed since 2021 challenging the Republican-led Legislature’s decision to divide a portion of the Little Rock area among three House districts.
“The 2021 redistricting plan is but the latest effort by Arkansas officials to limit Black voters’ access to representation and otherwise the political process,” the lawsuit filed by the Legal Defense Fund said.
The lawsuit challenges the decision to move thousands of predominantly Black voters out of the 2nd District in central Arkansas by splitting up heavily Democratic Pulaski County, where Little Rock is located. The voters were split between the state’s 1st and 4th congressional districts.
