Civil rights activists on Tuesday failed to convince a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling that could sharply curtail lawsuits enforcing a landmark voting rights law's protections against racial discrimination.
The full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected, opens new tab a request by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas State Conference NAACP to reconsider a 2-1 ruling by a panel of judges holding that only the government and not private plaintiffs can pursue cases enforcing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.