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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota tribes want US Supreme Court to hear voting rights case
A sign in Devils Lake, North Dakota, marks the road leading to the Spirit Lake Reservation. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) Two North Dakota Native tribes and a group of tribal citizens plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a court decision that found they don't have standing to sue the state of North Dakota for alleged voter discrimination. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in the ruling concluded that private voters have no way of challenging unfair voting practices under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which outlaws voter discrimination based on race. 'That decision is plainly wrong, and it will have a huge impact on Native voters,' Lenny Powell, a Native American Rights Fund attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a Tuesday statement. The ruling came in a case involving the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal members, who took North Dakota to court over a 2021 redistricting map the tribes say illegally diluted the power of Native voters. Court denies rehearing voting rights case; group calls decision 'loss for Native American voters' North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte in 2023 sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the state to adopt a different map. A panel of three 8th Circuit Court of Appeals judges in May voted 2-1 to reverse that finding. The panel indicated it would send the case back to Welte and direct him to dismiss the lawsuit. If allowed to go into effect, this decision would reinstate the original 2021 map. The plaintiffs asked the full 8th Circuit to rehear the case, though the court denied that request last week. Now the plaintiffs are gearing up to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. In a brief filed Wednesday, the plaintiffs asked the 8th Circuit to allow Welte's map to stay in place until the high court decides whether it will weigh in. The court on Thursday denied the request. The 8th Circuit is the only appellate circuit to find that private individuals cannot bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The court in a 2023 decision in a separate case found that it's the sole responsibility of the U.S. attorney general to enforce compliance with Section 2. The 8th Circuit's findings in the North Dakota case reaffirmed this position. The plaintiffs had attempted to use a separate civil rights statute, Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code, as an alternative means of bringing their voting rights claim, but the three-judge panel ruled this was not possible. Tribes, state argue redistricting case to federal appeals court While it's very rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to agree to hear a case, the plaintiffs in their most recent brief argued that the high court may be interested in the lawsuit because of the importance of voting rights and to resolve the different positions the 8th Circuit and other circuits have taken on the issue. Because of the circuit split, the plaintiffs think there is a 'reasonable probability' that at least four of the nine justices on the Supreme Court will want to review the case. The plaintiffs are hopeful the Supreme Court will ultimately reverse the 8th Circuit's decision. The Supreme Court has always allowed private individuals to file discrimination claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, they argue in the brief. North Dakota maintains that the 2021 map is not discriminatory and that the tribes lack standing to sue. The 8th Circuit includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. This story was updated to correct the states in the 8th Circuit and to update the status of a motion. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Solve the daily Crossword
08-07-2025
- Politics
Appeals court rules against North Dakota tribes in voting rights case that could go to Supreme Court
BISMARCK, N.D. -- A federal appeals court won't reconsider its decision in a redistricting case that went against two Native American tribes that challenged North Dakota's legislative redistricting map, and the dispute could be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. The case has drawn national interest because of a 2-1 ruling issued in May by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that erased a path through the federal Voting Rights Act for people in seven states to sue under a key provision of the landmark federal civil rights law. The tribes argued that the 2021 map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates. The panel said only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring such lawsuits. That followed a 2023 ruling out of Arkansas in the same circuit that also said private individuals can't sue under Section 2 of the law. Those rulings conflict with decades of rulings by appellate courts in other federal circuits that have affirmed the rights of private individuals to sue under Section 2, creating a split that the Supreme Court may be asked to resolve. However, several of the high court's conservative justices recently have indicated interest in making it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act. After the May decision, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians asked the appeals court for a rehearing before all 11 judges. Attorneys general of 19 states, numerous former U.S. Justice Department attorneys, several voting rights historians and others also asked for a rehearing. But in a ruling Thursday, the full court denied the request, which was filed by the Native American Rights Fund and other groups representing the tribes. Three judges said they would have granted it, including Circuit Chief Judge Steven Colloton, who had dissented in the previous ruling. The majority opinion in May said that for the tribes to sue under the Voting Rights Act, the law would have had to 'unambiguously' give private persons or groups the right to do so. Lenny Powell, a staff attorney for the fund, said in a statement that the refusal to reconsider 'wrongly restricts voters disenfranchised by a gerrymandered redistricting map" from challenging that map. Powell said Monday that the tribes are now considering their legal options. Another group representing the tribes, the Campaign Legal Center, said the ruling is "contrary to both the intent of Congress in enacting the law and to decades of Supreme Court precedent affirming voters' power to enforce the law in court.' The office of North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The groups said they will continue to fight to ensure fair maps. The North Dakota and Arkansas rulings apply only in the states of the 8th Circuit: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In the wake of the Arkansas decision, Minnesota and other states have moved to shore up voting rights with state-level protections to plug the growing gaps in the federal law. The North Dakota tribes filed their lawsuit in 2022. The three-judge panel heard appeal arguments last October after Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe appealed a lower court's November 2023 decision in favor of the tribes. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Peter Welte ordered creation of a new district that encompassed both tribes' reservations, which are about 60 miles (97 kilometers) apart. In 2024, voters elected members from both tribes, all Democrats, to the district's Senate seat and two House seats. Republicans hold supermajority control of North Dakota's Legislature.
San Francisco Chronicle
07-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Appeals court rules against North Dakota tribes in voting rights case that could go to Supreme Court
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court won't reconsider its decision in a redistricting case that went against two Native American tribes that challenged North Dakota's legislative redistricting map, and the dispute could be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. The case has drawn national interest because of a 2-1 ruling issued in May by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that erased a path through the federal Voting Rights Act for people in seven states to sue under a key provision of the landmark federal civil rights law. The tribes argued that the 2021 map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates. The panel said only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring such lawsuits. That followed a 2023 ruling out of Arkansas in the same circuit that also said private individuals can't sue under Section 2 of the law. Those rulings conflict with decades of rulings by appellate courts in other federal circuits that have affirmed the rights of private individuals to sue under Section 2, creating a split that the Supreme Court may be asked to resolve. However, several of the high court's conservative justices recently have indicated interest in making it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act. After the May decision, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians asked the appeals court for a rehearing before all 11 judges. Attorneys general of 19 states, numerous former U.S. Justice Department attorneys, several voting rights historians and others also asked for a rehearing. But in a ruling Thursday, the full court denied the request, which was filed by the Native American Rights Fund and other groups representing the tribes. Three judges said they would have granted it, including Circuit Chief Judge Steven Colloton, who had dissented in the previous ruling. The majority opinion in May said that for the tribes to sue under the Voting Rights Act, the law would have had to 'unambiguously' give private persons or groups the right to do so. Lenny Powell, a staff attorney for the fund, said in a statement that the refusal to reconsider 'wrongly restricts voters disenfranchised by a gerrymandered redistricting map" from challenging that map. Powell said Monday that the tribes are now considering their legal options. Another group representing the tribes, the Campaign Legal Center, said the ruling is "contrary to both the intent of Congress in enacting the law and to decades of Supreme Court precedent affirming voters' power to enforce the law in court.' The office of North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The groups said they will continue to fight to ensure fair maps. The North Dakota and Arkansas rulings apply only in the states of the 8th Circuit: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In the wake of the Arkansas decision, Minnesota and other states have moved to shore up voting rights with state-level protections to plug the growing gaps in the federal law. The North Dakota tribes filed their lawsuit in 2022. The three-judge panel heard appeal arguments last October after Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe appealed a lower court's November 2023 decision in favor of the tribes. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Peter Welte ordered creation of a new district that encompassed both tribes' reservations, which are about 60 miles (97 kilometers) apart. In 2024, voters elected members from both tribes, all Democrats, to the district's Senate seat and two House seats. ___ Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.
Hamilton Spectator
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Appeals court rules against North Dakota tribes in voting rights case that could go to Supreme Court
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court won't reconsider its decision in a redistricting case that went against two Native American tribes that challenged North Dakota's legislative redistricting map, and the dispute could be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. The case has drawn national interest because of a 2-1 ruling issued in May by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that erased a path through the federal Voting Rights Act for people in seven states to sue under a key provision of the landmark federal civil rights law. The tribes argued that the 2021 map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates. The panel said only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring such lawsuits. That followed a 2023 ruling out of Arkansas in the same circuit that also said private individuals can't sue under Section 2 of the law. Those rulings conflict with decades of rulings by appellate courts in other federal circuits that have affirmed the rights of private individuals to sue under Section 2, creating a split that the Supreme Court may be asked to resolve. However, several of the high court's conservative justices recently have indicated interest in making it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act . After the May decision, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians asked the appeals court for a rehearing before all 11 judges. Attorneys general of 19 states, numerous former U.S. Justice Department attorneys, several voting rights historians and others also asked for a rehearing. But in a ruling Thursday, the full court denied the request, which was filed by the Native American Rights Fund and other groups representing the tribes. Three judges said they would have granted it, including Circuit Chief Judge Steven Colloton, who had dissented in the previous ruling. The majority opinion in May said that for the tribes to sue under the Voting Rights Act, the law would have had to 'unambiguously' give private persons or groups the right to do so. Lenny Powell, a staff attorney for the fund, said in a statement that the refusal to reconsider 'wrongly restricts voters disenfranchised by a gerrymandered redistricting map' from challenging that map. Powell said Monday that the tribes are now considering their legal options. Another group representing the tribes, the Campaign Legal Center, said the ruling is 'contrary to both the intent of Congress in enacting the law and to decades of Supreme Court precedent affirming voters' power to enforce the law in court.' The office of North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The groups said they will continue to fight to ensure fair maps. The North Dakota and Arkansas rulings apply only in the states of the 8th Circuit: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In the wake of the Arkansas decision, Minnesota and other states have moved to shore up voting rights with state-level protections to plug the growing gaps in the federal law. The North Dakota tribes filed their lawsuit in 2022. The three-judge panel heard appeal arguments last October after Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe appealed a lower court's November 2023 decision in favor of the tribes. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Peter Welte ordered creation of a new district that encompassed both tribes' reservations, which are about 60 miles (97 kilometers) apart. In 2024, voters elected members from both tribes, all Democrats, to the district's Senate seat and two House seats. Republicans hold supermajority control of North Dakota's Legislature. ___ Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Appeals court rules against North Dakota tribes in voting rights case that could go to Supreme Court
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court won't reconsider its decision in a redistricting case that went against two Native American tribes that challenged North Dakota's legislative redistricting map, and the dispute could be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. The case has drawn national interest because of a 2-1 ruling issued in May by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that erased a path through the federal Voting Rights Act for people in seven states to sue under a key provision of the landmark federal civil rights law. The tribes argued that the 2021 map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates. The panel said only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring such lawsuits. That followed a 2023 ruling out of Arkansas in the same circuit that also said private individuals can't sue under Section 2 of the law. Those rulings conflict with decades of rulings by appellate courts in other federal circuits that have affirmed the rights of private individuals to sue under Section 2, creating a split that the Supreme Court may be asked to resolve. However, several of the high court's conservative justices recently have indicated interest in making it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act. After the May decision, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians asked the appeals court for a rehearing before all 11 judges. Attorneys general of 19 states, numerous former U.S. Justice Department attorneys, several voting rights historians and others also asked for a rehearing. But in a ruling Thursday, the full court denied the request, which was filed by the Native American Rights Fund and other groups representing the tribes. Three judges said they would have granted it, including Circuit Chief Judge Steven Colloton, who had dissented in the previous ruling. The majority opinion in May said that for the tribes to sue under the Voting Rights Act, the law would have had to 'unambiguously' give private persons or groups the right to do so. Lenny Powell, a staff attorney for the fund, said in a statement that the refusal to reconsider 'wrongly restricts voters disenfranchised by a gerrymandered redistricting map' from challenging that map. Powell said Monday that the tribes are now considering their legal options. Another group representing the tribes, the Campaign Legal Center, said the ruling is 'contrary to both the intent of Congress in enacting the law and to decades of Supreme Court precedent affirming voters' power to enforce the law in court.' The office of North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The groups said they will continue to fight to ensure fair maps. The North Dakota and Arkansas rulings apply only in the states of the 8th Circuit: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In the wake of the Arkansas decision, Minnesota and other states have moved to shore up voting rights with state-level protections to plug the growing gaps in the federal law. The North Dakota tribes filed their lawsuit in 2022. The three-judge panel heard appeal arguments last October after Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe appealed a lower court's November 2023 decision in favor of the tribes. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Peter Welte ordered creation of a new district that encompassed both tribes' reservations, which are about 60 miles (97 kilometers) apart. In 2024, voters elected members from both tribes, all Democrats, to the district's Senate seat and two House seats. Republicans hold supermajority control of North Dakota's Legislature. ___ Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.
