North Dakota Tribes ask Supreme Court to Keep Legislative Districts Intact Amid Lawsuit

(Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakota tribes and a group of tribal citizens have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to keep North Dakota’s district map in place while it considers whether to review a voting discrimination lawsuit against the state.

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal members filed suit against North Dakota over a 2021 redistricting map they say diluted the power of Indigenous voters in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.

North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte in 2023 concluded the map is discriminatory and ordered the state to adopt different district lines, but the 8th Circuit reversed his decision in May.

The appellate court’s ruling found that private citizens have no means of filing lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act to challenge racially discriminatory voting practices. The 8th Circuit indicated it would send the case back to Welte and direct him to dismiss the lawsuit.