Minority Groups Can’t Join to Claim Vote Dilution in Redistricting: Appeals Court

Grouping minorities together is inconsistent with the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Judge Edith Jones wrote.

A man walks in front of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, La., in an undated file photograph. Jonathan Bachman/AP Photo

Minority groups are not able to join together to claim their votes are diluted in challenges to redistricting, according to an Aug. 1 ruling from a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in 1988 that minority groups could join together to challenge redistricting under the Voting Rights Act, which bars denial or abridgment of voting rights based on race. In the new ruling, the same court reversed that decision.