North Dakota Tribes ask U.S. Supreme Court to Review Redistricting Case

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakota tribes and a group of tribal citizens formally petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision that found they cannot sue the state of North Dakota for alleged voter discrimination.

The tribes say that the decision, if allowed to go into effect, would not only limit their representation in the North Dakota Legislature but be a detriment to racial equality across all seven states in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Private groups in these states would no longer be able to challenge state or local governments for alleged racially discriminatory voting practices.

The tribes’ lawsuit, filed in 2022, accuses a legislative district map adopted by North Dakota lawmakers in 2021 of unlawfully diluting the power of Native American voters. The plaintiffs —  the Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and three tribal citizens — claim that the map caused them to lose representation in the state Legislature.

While U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte in a 2023 ruling agreed with the tribes and in early 2024 put an alternate map in place, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his decision in May. The appellate court concluded that the tribes do not have standing to bring the case because a law they used to bring it, known as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, can only be enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice. Section 2 makes it illegal to limit someone’s voting rights on the basis of race.