US court rolls back key voting rights protection blocking individual citizens’ ability to appeal against discriminatory voting practices.

It’s likely that the court will appeal the decision, which was approved in a split 2-1 vote by judges. This could start a fresh row over voting rights in the chamber.

A new congressional map – approved by the Republican-dominated state legislature – was appealing by lawyers in Arkansas who argued it minimised black voter power.

As the extremely close 2024 election heats up, black voters in several states across the south, including Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, have filed lawsuits accusing the states’ lawmakers of diluting their voting power through redrawing maps along racial lines, which is called racial gerrymandering.

Supreme Court ruled in September in favor of black voters in Alabama who sued the state for violating Section 2, and ordered lawmakers to map a new map with an additional black-majority district.

Many thought the decision marked a policy shift from the majority-conservative Supreme Court since it was seen as a major victory for black voters in the state.