Staff Reports
Arkansas’ recent redistricting plans have been a hot-button issue, but an Eastern District of Arkansas panel of judges has finally dismissed a lawsuit filed by two black Democratic lawmakers and four residents who claimed that the new map diluted the influence of black voters. The panel ruled that the new legislative boundaries didn’t violate the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act.
As expected, the conservative Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin hailed this unanimous decision as a victory for democracy. He said, “This confirms what we already knew: Our congressional districts do not violate the United States Constitution and are legal.”
It must be noted that this panel had two Obama appointees, but surprisingly, even they accepted the new map. The allegations of the plaintiffs were simply not enough to make the framework unacceptable, according to the judges.
This decision is a breath of fresh air for the US political scenario because other states such as Georgia have been criticised for gerrymandering in the past. Republicans, however, customarily argue that this sort of thing is just what the opposing side does.
A panel of three federal judges dismissed a challenge to Arkansas’s congressional districts. This is the second time in a month that a court has struck down such a challenge. https://t.co/LgRYgqrszF #arnews pic.twitter.com/qF3uh8Tsm3
— Attorney General Tim Griffin (@AGTimGriffin) May 25, 2023
But Democratic claims of alleged bias often seem like overreactions. This latest decision by the Arkansas panel of judges should be the end of any sort of debate on the state’s latest redistricting plans.
At a time of political division and social unrest in the world’s oldest democracy, all Americans need a faithful belief in the judges being unbiased and impartial. This ruling does a great deal to boost the public’s trust in the electoral system.
Source: The Daily Caller
