Raoul Joins Coalition Urging Supreme Court to Review Voting Rights Act Case

CHICAGO — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 22 other state attorneys general in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that blocks individuals from suing to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The coalition filed an amicus brief supporting the right of private citizens to challenge racially discriminatory voting practices, arguing that private enforcement has been central to protecting access to the ballot for nearly 60 years. The case, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe, stems from a North Dakota redistricting dispute in which the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that only the federal government could bring such cases. Raoul and his counterparts say that limiting enforcement to the U.S. attorney general would weaken protections against voter discrimination and undermine equal access to elections.