BISMARCK, N.D. — The clock is running out on a Friday deadline for North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature to draw new legislative boundaries compliant with the Voting Rights Act for two Native American tribes who successfully sued for new lines.
It’s unclear what will happen next, with the 2024 election calendar looming and a flurry of legal filings in recent days.
A federal judge last month ruled that the state’s 2021 redistricting map violates the landmark 1965 civil rights law in diluting the strength of Native American voters. He gave the secretary of state and lawmakers five weeks, ending Friday, “to adopt a plan to remedy the violation.”
Secretary of State Michael Howe is appealing the decision. The Legislature’s Redistricting Committee began meeting this month to address the ruling and review options of maps. Requests to delay the ruling or extend the deadline have so far been unsuccessful.
WHAT IS THE CASE?
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe and several tribal members sued North Dakota’s top election official last year. They alleged the 2021 redistricting map “simultaneously packs Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians members into one house district, and cracks Spirit Lake Tribe members out of any majority Native house district.”
The tribes had unsuccessfully sought a joint district in 2021. Their reservations are about 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) apart. Their lawsuit went to trial in June.
Flags of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the state of North Dakota stand in Memorial Hall of the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe successfully challenged the state’s 2021 redistricting map as a violation of the Voting Rights Act, alleging it diluted tribal members’ voting strength. A Friday, Dec. 22, 2023 deadline looms for North Dakota’s secretary of state and Republican-controlled Legislature to adopt a…
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