{"id":2466522,"date":"2025-07-25T06:02:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T10:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-voting-rights-act-dispute\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T06:06:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T10:06:40","slug":"scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-voting-rights-act-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-voting-rights-act-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS Stays Lower Court Ruling In Voting Rights Act Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-voting-rights-act-dispute%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2466522&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling related too the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) concerning North Dakota&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-throws-out-alabamas-gop-drawn-congressional-map-potentially-giving-democrats-another-seat\/\" title=\"... Throws Out Alabama\u2019s GOP-Drawn Congressional Map, Potentially Giving Democrats Another Seat\">state legislative map<\/a>. In a 6-3 decision, the Court stayed an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that had ruled against two American Indian tribes who argued the map diluted their voting power. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-has-conviction-reinstated-by-maryland-appeals-court\/\" title=\"Adnan Syed, Subject Of Hit \u2018Serial\u2019 Podcast, Has Conviction Reinstated By Maryland Appeals ...\">appellate court panel<\/a> had decided that private plaintiffs cannot pursue claims under Section 2 of the VRA through <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >federal civil rights laws<\/a>, overturning an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-declines-appeal-from-christian-school-in-transgender-housing-case\/\" title=\"... rejects Christian school&#039;s appeal in transgender housing case.\">earlier district court ruling<\/a> in favor of the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Brett Kavanaugh, responsible for emergency applications from the 8th Circuit, initially granted a pause to allow the Supreme Court to consider the issue. The stay remains until the Court decides whether to hear the case. Justices Clarence Thomas,Samuel Alito,adn Neil Gorsuch dissented from granting this temporary relief.<\/p>\n<p>This development precedes a meaningful upcoming supreme Court case, *Louisiana v. Callais*, focused on Section 2 of the VRA and allegations of racial considerations in Louisiana&#8217;s legislative redistricting.The Court delayed this case for reargument in the next term, prompting dissent from justice Thomas, who has long urged a reevaluation of Section 2&#8217;s interpretation.<\/p>\n<p>the Supreme Court is closely examining the application and scope of the voting Rights Act amid ongoing disputes over electoral maps and voting rights for minority groups.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_double_rainbow_arches_over_the_U.S._Supreme_Court_building_in_Washington_D.C._(b5a11fed-ffc5-4a75-85ca-6989a8ea14e4).jpg\">Tom Engberg\/NPGallery\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/25\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-north-dakota-voting-rights-act-dispute\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=SCOTUS%20Stays%20Lower%20Court%20Ruling%20In%20North%20Dakota%20Voting%20Rights%20Act%20Dispute&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/25\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-north-dakota-voting-rights-act-dispute\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=SCOTUS%20Stays%20Lower%20Court%20Ruling%20In%20North%20Dakota%20Voting%20Rights%20Act%20Dispute&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/25\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-north-dakota-voting-rights-act-dispute\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/25\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-north-dakota-voting-rights-act-dispute\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=SCOTUS%20Stays%20Lower%20Court%20Ruling%20In%20North%20Dakota%20Voting%20Rights%20Act%20Dispute&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/25\/scotus-stays-lower-court-ruling-in-north-dakota-voting-rights-act-dispute\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/orders\/courtorders\/072425zr_o75p.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocked<\/a> a lower court ruling centered on provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. <\/p>\n<p>In a 6-3 decision, the justices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/orders\/courtorders\/072425zr_o75p.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stayed<\/a> a ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had sided against two American Indian tribes in an ongoing dispute over North Dakota&rsquo;s state legislative map. The plaintiffs claimed that the state&rsquo;s map &ldquo;denied them an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5418738-supreme-court-halts-appeals-ruling\/\">The<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5418738-supreme-court-halts-appeals-ruling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5418738-supreme-court-halts-appeals-ruling\/\">Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2040969227\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In its decision, the three-judge panel <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/appellate-courts\/ca8\/23-3655\/23-3655-2025-05-14.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> (2-1) that private plaintiffs cannot &ldquo;maintain a private right of action for alleged violations of &sect; 2&rdquo; of the VRA using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/42\/1983\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">federal civil rights laws<\/a>. The ruling overturned a prior decision by the district court, which sided with the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n<p>Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh &mdash; who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/about\/circuitassignments.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">handles<\/a> emergency applications from the 8th Circuit &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2025\/07\/north-dakota-urges-supreme-court-to-leave-in-place-decision-that-could-weaken-vra\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">granted<\/a> plaintiffs&rsquo; request on July 16 to place a temporary pause on the 8th Circuit&rsquo;s order to provide the justices time to consider their request for relief.<\/p>\n<p>According to Thursday&rsquo;s SCOTUS order, the 8th Circuit&rsquo;s decision is &ldquo;stayed pending the filing and disposition of the petition for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/Writ_of_certiorari\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writ of certiorari<\/a>, if such writ is timely sought.&rdquo; The stay will terminate if a potential petition from one of the parties to SCOTUS is denied by the high court or if SCOTUS agrees to take up the matter and hands down a final judgment in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch would have denied the plaintiffs&rsquo; request for temporary relief. None of the justices offered an explanation for their decisions in the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday&rsquo;s decision comes as the high court gears up to tackle a VRA-related case during its next term. Known as <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2025\/24-109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Louisiana v. Callais<\/a><\/em>, the matter revolves around a dispute involving Section 2 of the VRA and the alleged prioritization of race when drafting Louisiana&rsquo;s most recent legislative map. <\/p>\n<p>While originally supposed to be decided earlier this year, SCOTUS <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/27\/scotus-punts-louisiana-redistricting-case-to-next-term\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> on the last day of its 2024-2025 term that the case will be reargued and decided in its 2025-2026 term. Thomas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/24pdf\/24-109_l53m.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dissented<\/a> from the high court&rsquo;s decision to punt on the matter, arguing that &ldquo;Congress requires this Court to exercise jurisdiction over constitutional challenges to congressional redistricting, and we accordingly have an obligation to resolve such challenges promptly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For over three decades, I have called for &lsquo;a systematic reassessment of our interpretation of &sect;2,&rsquo;&rdquo; Thomas wrote. &ldquo;I am hopeful that this Court will soon realize that the conflict its &sect;2 jurisprudence has sown with the Constitution is too severe to ignore. Because the Court declines to reach that conclusion today and instead inexplicably schedules these cases for reargument, I respectfully dissent.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-american-freedom-convoy-set-to-launch-on-march-1\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018American Freedom Convoy\u2019 Set To Launch On March 1\">state content writer<\/a> for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-laws\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election laws<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/north-dakota\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">North Dakota<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/section-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Section 2<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/u-s-8th-circuit-court-of-appeals\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voting-rights-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Voting Rights Act<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image Credit Tom Engberg\/NPGallery\/Wikimedia Commons. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted a lower court ruling involving the 1965 Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 decision<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2466523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SCOTUS-2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6994,32275,37296],"class_list":["post-2466522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-scotus","tag-supreme-court","tag-voting-rights-act"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SCOTUS-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2466522"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2466531,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466522\/revisions\/2466531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2466523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2466522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2466522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2466522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}