The Legislature will intervene in a lawsuit over the state’s most recent redistricting plan.
Two North Dakota tribes – the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Spirit Lake Nation – brought suit in federal court, saying the state hasn’t done enough in its plan to guarantee Native representation in the Legislature.
Federal district judge Peter Welte (Well-tee) found in favor of the Tribes, saying the plan diluted native voting rights, and ordered the Legislature to come up with a new plan by Dec. 22nd.
North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe filed an appeal, after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an unrelated case, that only the federal government could bring legal action on the federal Voting Rights Act.
At a meeting of the Legislative Management Committee, Senate Majority Leader David Hogue (R-Minot) made the motion for Legislative intervention.
The vote was 13-4, with all four Democrats voting 'no.'
"I certainly respect the Legislative institutional interest in being at the table, and in litigation that directly implicates our Constitutional role," Ista told the Committee. "But I think, like Judge Welte noted in his decision on the merits of this case, it's also a very close case under the existing law."
The Committee also approved appointing a redistricting committee, and okayed a “request for proposal” to seek outside help in drafting a new plan, if that becomes necessary.
