Arrr! The scurvy judge be demandin' a fresh North Dakota district to please the tribal mates! Yo ho ho!
2024-01-08
Arr, ye scurvy judge be orderin' North Dakota to be makin' a newfangled chart for them Native American tribes! Seems the old map be settin' off their sea legs, aye!
A federal judge has ordered a new joint North Dakota legislative district for two Native American tribes after they successfully argued that the state's 2021 redistricting map violated the Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter Welte made the decision after ruling that the map prevented Native American voters from having an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The judge had given North Dakota Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe and the GOP-controlled Legislature until December 22 to remedy the violation, but they failed to adopt a plan by the deadline. The new map, which requires changes to only three districts, is the least intrusive option that complies with the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution, according to Welte.The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe filed the lawsuit, claiming that the 2021 redistricting map packed members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians into one district and cracked members of the Spirit Lake Tribe out of any majority Native district. The tribes welcome the ruling for the 2024 elections and hope that the Legislature and the Secretary of State will stop litigating against fair maps.
It is unclear which lawmakers will be affected by the new boundaries, as North Dakota's assembly only meets in odd-numbered years and is not currently in session. North Dakota has 47 legislative districts, and Republicans currently control the House of Representatives 82-12 and the Senate 43-4. The two tribes had previously proposed a single legislative district encompassing both reservations, but their proposal was rejected in 2021. Lawmakers involved in the redistricting process have argued that it was done correctly based on 2020 census numbers.