Yunior Rivas with the Democracy Docket has the story here.

From Yunior’s write-up:

In a case where the 8th Circuit has severely weakened the Voting Rights Act (VRA), Native American voters in North Dakota are preparing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after the federal appeals court ruled that private individuals cannot bring lawsuits under Section 2 — the part of the Voting Rights Act that bars racially discriminatory voting laws.

On Wednesday, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Native voters asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause the implementation of its decision, warning that the ruling puts “every American citizen” in danger of losing their ability to fight racial discrimination in voting.

“Plaintiffs intend to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court to resolve this circuit split on a question of exceptional importance,” the motion states. “There is a reasonable probability that at least four Justices will agree to grant Plaintiffs’ petition for certiorari.”

If the Supreme Court agrees with the 8th Circuit’s ruling, it could end voters and private groups’ ability to file Section 2 lawsuits, leaving only the U.S. Department of Justice with power to enforce one of the most important protections in federal civil rights law.