LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A newly filed lawsuit in Arkansas asks the courts to look at possible gerrymandering that diluted the Black vote.
The Christian Ministerial Alliance and some Pulaski County voters filed the lawsuit against the Arkansas Secretary of State and the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners.
It claims the redistricted map of 2021 is unconstitutional because it split voting power in Black neighborhoods and intentionally gerrymandered the vote.
"It's rare for a single county to be divided into that many congressional districts... and where Pulaski County was split strikes right through the heart of a Black community of Little Rock and Pulaski County," said Michael Skocpol, an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who is representing Pulaski County voters.
Now, the attorneys are asking a federal judge to weigh in.
But this isn't the first time a lawsuit claimed discrimination through gerrymandering in Arkansas. The previous ones have been struck down.
However, Skocpol said this case is different, and he has complete confidence that his team has enough evidence to prove their case.
We reached out to the Arkansas Attorney General's office. They said the recent Alabama ruling would have no impact on this case.
The next step for this lawsuit is for the state's response.