Lawsuit challenges Arkansas congressional redistricting plan

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging Arkansas’ new U.S House district lines over claims it violates Black voters’ rights and weakens their influence. The lawsuit was filed Monday by six residents, including two Democratic state lawmakers. The suit says the plan approved by the majority-Republican Legislature last year violates the Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act by moving 23,000 predominantly Black voters out of the 2nd District in central Arkansas. Those voters were split between the state’s 1st and 4th congressional districts. GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed the plan to become law in October without his signature.