While the public’s attention may be focused on Section 5 for the time being, a lesser known issue involving Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act may soon steal the Court’s attention. Last week in Pope v. County of Albany, the Second Circuit called attention to a circuit split over Section 2 of the Act. . .

Under Section 2, members of minority groups may bring claims of vote dilution where multimember voting districts “submerge” minority voters into the majority masses.  To bring an actionable claim in such cases, a plaintiff must show, among other things, that the members of their protected class form a “politically cohesive” minority group.  As the Second Circuit pointed out last week, however, “[t]he circuits are split as to whether different minority groups may be aggregated to establish a Section 2 claim.” . . .

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has expressly reserved decision on the issue, while at the same time indicating that a plaintiff relying on an aggregated minority group would have to demonstrate that its members are politically cohesive.