LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued a statement following the federal district court’s decision to dismiss the Voting Rights Act lawsuit against the Arkansas Board of Apportionment.

“Arkansas voters are victorious after President Biden’s Department of Justice was unwilling to file a complaint against the Arkansas Board of Apportionment and the case was subsequently dismissed,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “With candidate filing officially underway today, I am pleased Arkansans can confidently move forward with the election process.”

The Board of Apportionment voted in November 2021 to adopt new legislative district maps in order to comply with federal law requiring reapportionment following the census. The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas State Conference NAACP sued, claiming the district maps for the Arkansas House of Representatives violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. After a multi-day hearing, the federal district court agreed with the Board of Apportionment that the case must be dismissed because only the United States Attorney General may sue under the Voting Rights Act. The Department of Justice (DOJ) was ordered to notify the court by today as to whether it intended to intervene as a plaintiff to continue the lawsuit against the Board. The DOJ chose not to intervene, and the case was dismissed.