Judge Orders New North Dakota Legislative District for Native American Tribes
The new map, to be used in 2024, addresses Voting Rights Act violations and was originally proposed by the tribes during the 2021 redistricting process.
- A federal judge has ordered a new joint North Dakota legislative district for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe.
- The tribes successfully argued that a map created through redistricting in 2021 violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting their voting strength.
- The judge's decision comes after a flurry of court filings in the lawsuit since his November 2021 ruling.
- The new map requires changes to only three districts and is the least intrusive option that complies with the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution.
- The map that will be used in 2024 is the same Voting Rights Act-compliant map the Tribes originally recommended to the Redistricting Committee and the full Legislature during the 2021 redistricting process.