In the wake of a new ruling from the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe will appeal a federal judge’s ruling in a case involving the state's Legislative redistricting plan, and Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.
In a case called Turtle Mountain versus Howe, Judge Peter Welte in Fargo ruled the 2021 Legislative Redistricting plan violated that section of the Act, that bars racial discrimination in voting. Welte said that plan violated the rights of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Spirit Lake Nation.
The two reservations proposed a single district connecting the two.
But the appeals court ruled 2 to one that only the US Government could sue under the Voting Rights Act, and not private parties.
The majority leaders in the North Dakota Legislature have said they support the appeal. They said the redistricting plans passed with overwhelming margins in both houses.
Welte had given the Legislature a December deadline to redraw the map. But this appeal means lawmakers won’t be meeting in special session.
