Appeals court: Separate, distinct minority groups can’t join together to claim vote dilution

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A divided federal appeals court has ruled that separate, distinct minority groups cannot join together in coalitions to claim their votes are diluted in redistricting cases under the  federal Voting Rights Act. Thursday’s 12-6 ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturns years of that court’s own precedent and appears likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court. At issue was a redistricting case in Galveston County, Texas, where Black and Latino groups had joined to challenge district maps drawn by the county commission.