In his ruling, Welte said the plan approved by the state Legislature to redraw voting districts in accordance with the latest census data “prevents Native American voters from having an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice” - a violation of the landmark civil rights law.
Welte gave the Republican-controlled Legislature and the secretary of state until Dec. 22 “to adopt a plan to remedy the violation.”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s 2021 legislative redistricting plan violates the rights of two Native American tribes because it dilutes their voting strength, a federal judge ruled Friday.
In his ruling, Welte said the plan approved by the state Legislature to redraw voting districts in accordance with the latest census data “prevents Native American voters from having an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice” - a violation of the landmark civil rights law.
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe 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 submitted a plan in federal court for a joint district that “doesn’t move very many lines statewide,” attorney Tim Purdon told The Associated Press.
A three-judge panel earlier this month dismissed another federal lawsuit that targeted the redistricting, brought by two local Republican Party officials who challenged new House subdistricts comprising tribal nations as unconstitutional “racial gerrymandering.”
Lawmakers who were involved in the 2021 redistricting process have previously cited 2020 census numbers meeting population requirements of the Voting Rights Act for creating those subdistricts.
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