LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal panel has rejected a state senator's claim that a redistricting panel diluted the black vote in his east Arkansas district when it redrew the boundaries last year.
The three-judge panel on Monday upheld the boundaries for the east Arkansas district currently held by Democratic Sen. Jack Crumbly. The judges rejected a lawsuit by Crumbly and residents in his district who said the Board of Apportionment violated the U.S. Constitution by lowering the number of voting-age blacks.
Crumbly, who is black, lost to state Rep. Keith Ingram, who is white, in the May primary for his Senate seat. No Republican is running in the district.
The board is made up of Gov. Mike Beebe, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and Secretary of State Mark Martin.
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