Our trial against racial gerrymandering is set to begin today in Arkansas federal court.
In December, we joined the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Arkansas in a lawsuit challenging a new redistricting plan for the Arkansas House of Representatives that would undermine the voting strength of Black Arkansans in districts across Central Arkansas, the Upper Delta, the Lower Delta, and Southwest Arkansas.
Because of the 2020 Census, we know that the Black population in Arkansas has grown over the last decade, but the Board of Apportionment failed to craft district lines that reflect this growth. The Board of Apportionment should have drawn at least four additional Black-majority districts.
The House map substantially underrepresents Black Arkansans, and unnecessarily divides communities of interest. This denies Black voters the equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice — violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which bans the drawing of legislative district lines that water down the voting strength of communities of color.
If newly drawn maps aren’t updated to fairly represent all Arkansans, these communities will continue to face obstacles to meaningful participation in the political process.
The case, Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment, will be heard by Judge Lee Rudofsky in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Today’s hearing begins at 1 p.m. in Courtroom 1D on the first floor of the Federal Courthouse, 500 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock.
Judge Rudofsky denied a request that the hearing be live-streamed, so we’ll keep you updated on new developments here and on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Stay tuned!