North Dakota Tribes ask Circuit Judges for Rehearing of Voting Rights Case

Jamie Azure, chair of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(BY: MARY STEURER. North Dakota Monitor) – The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal citizens asked the full 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a three-judge panel’s finding that they lack standing to bring a voting discrimination case against the state of North Dakota.

In a 2-1 decision, the panel overruled a North Dakota federal district court’s decision that a redistricting plan adopted by the state in 2021 diluted the voting power of Native voters.

“Turtle Mountain fought hard for a fair and legal map. When the state draws unlawful districts, Courts must step in to protect voters — not pave the way for injustice,” Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure said in a statement published by the Campaign Legal Center, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs in the suit. “We will continue to fight for fair representation.”

The panel’s decision didn’t speak to whether the map itself was discriminatory; instead, the judges found that private individuals cannot use a key federal civil rights law as a vehicle to file cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which outlaws race-based voting discriminati