Whether private citizens can sue to challenge political processes under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act when alleging unequal racial access to the political process

No question identified. : To the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and Circuit Justice to the Eighth Circuit: Applicants and Plaintiffs below, Arkansas State Conference NAACP (‘Arkansas NAACP”) and Arkansas Public Policy Panel (“Arkansas PPP”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), respectfully request a 60-day extension of time, up to and including June 28, 2024, in which to file a petition for a writ of certiorari.! In support of this request, counsel state as follows: 1. On November 20, 2023, a split three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. (Attachment A.) Plaintiffs filed a petition for rehearing en banc, which the Eighth Circuit denied on January 30, 2024. (Attachment B.) 2. Plaintiffs have ninety days from January 30, 2024, to petition for a writ of certiorari. Sup. Ct. R. 13.1. The petition is therefore due on April 29, 2024. This application is timely because it is being filed at least ten days before that date. See Sup. Ct. R. 13.5. 3. The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked under 28 U.S.C. § 1254(1). 1 Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 29.6, Arkansas NAACP discloses that its parent corporation is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 4805 Mount Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215. There is no stock in Arkansas NAACP and, thus, no publicly held company or corporation owns ten percent or more of its stock. Arkansas PPP discloses that it has no corporate parent and no stock, so no publicly held corporation owns ten percent or more of its stock. 4. There is good cause for this application. This appeal raises an important question: whether private citizens can sue to challenge political processes that are not equally open to all racial groups under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 52 U.S.C. § 10301. The district court and the court of appeals are the first and second courts ever to hold that only the United States Department of Justice and no other individual or organization can sue to vindicate rights under Section 2. 5. Further, good cause exists in order to consider the impact of subsequent decisions by the court of appeals and in district courts in the Highth Circuit. 6. An extension would likely also preserve judicial resources because legal developments in pending cases may obviate the need for such a petition, such as in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe, No. 23-3655, (8th Cir.). 7. Good cause also exists because counsel for Plaintiffs are facing other pressing litigation matters, and because Plaintiffs’ lead counsel in the Court of Appeals (who would be counsel of record before this Court) is currently on parental leave through May 20, 2024. 8. Plaintiffs contacted Defendants for their position on this application, and Defendants stated that they do not oppose the request. For these reasons, Plaintiffs respectfully request that an order be entered extending the time in which to petition for a writ of certiorari by 60 days, up to and including June 28, 2024. Dated: April 5, 2024 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Sophia Lin Lakin Sophia Lin Lakin Counsel of Record AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 549-2500 slakin@aclu.org Counsel for Plaintiffs Attachment A GAnited States Court of Appeals For the Cighth Circuit No. 22-1395 Arkansas State Conference NAACP; Arkansas Public Policy Panel Plaintiffs Appellants v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in her official capacity as the Governor of Arkansas Chairman of the Arkansas Board of Apportionment; John Thurston, in his official capacity as the Secretary of State of Arkansas and as a member of the Arkansas Board of Apportionment; Tim Griffin, in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the State of Arkansas and as a member of the Arkansas Board of Apportionment; Stat