Judge orders North Dakota to use Native plaintiffs' proposed legislative map
Jan. 8—GRAND FORKS — A federal judge has ordered North Dakota use a legislative map proposed by two Native American tribes after lawmakers failed to comply with an order to draw up an alternate map.
U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte ordered the state adopt a map with a joint legislative district proposed by plaintiffs from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe, after
ruling Nov. 17 that the state's 2021 redistricting map violated the rights of Native American voters
under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The Legislature had until Dec. 22 to propose an alternate map but failed to do so, instead
filing an emergency motion the day before
asking for the redistricting deadline to be pushed back to Feb. 9.
Welte denied that motion Monday, Jan. 8, saying the state was afforded a "reasonable opportunity" to propose an alternative map and was not a party in the lawsuit, as well as noting the named defendant in the case, Secretary of State Michael Howe, did not file a response to the Legislature's request for an extension.
"(The plaintiffs' proposed map) corrects the Section 2 violation, is narrowly tailored, and achieves population equality," Welte wrote. "It requires changes to only three districts and is the least intrusive option that complies with the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution."
In a series of motions, lawmakers and the Secretary of State's office have pushed back against Welte's November ruling, which found the 2021 map packed Native voters into District 9A and diluted their votes in District 9B and District 15.
Howe appealed the judge's ruling to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and separately asked Welte and the appeals court to push back the redistricting deadline.
State lawmakers
voted Dec. 5 to join Howe's case
in the appellate court.
Welte
denied Howe's request to delay the deadline
on Dec. 12, and the appeals court
denied Howe and the Legislature's request
three days later.
House Majority Leader Mike Lefor said a planned Tuesday redistricting committee had been postponed. He said legislative leaders would be reaching out to the Secretary of State and Attorney General's office to determine next steps.
A call to a phone number listed for Deputy Secretary of State Sandra McMerty in a November press release from the Secretary of State's office led to a prerecorded message saying the number was no longer in service.
"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," said Tim Purdon, who represented the Native tribes, in an emailed statement. "The time has come for the Legislature and the Secretary of State to stop spending against litigating against fair maps in North Dakota."
Howe and the lawmakers' appeal to throw out Welte's initial ruling is still pending before the appellate court, though Purdon previously told the Herald he did not expect the Eighth Circuit's decision to come before the June 21 primary.
The Eighth Circuit ruled 2-1 in November to throw out an Arkansas racial gerrymandering case after finding private parties could not sue under Section 2 of the VRA, a decision that could have wide-ranging implications for voting rights enforcement.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed for a rehearing in that case.
