On September 2, a cert petition was filed in the U.S. Supreme Court over North Dakota legislative redistricting. Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v Howe, 25-253. The issue is whether the federal Voting Rights Act can be enforced by private litigants, or whether only the federal government can bring a Voting Rights Act lawsuit.
After the 2020 census, the North Dakota legislature passed a redistricting plan that sharply reduced Native American representation in the legislature. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians sued, and the U.S. District Court found in their favor. Then the state appealed, and the Eighth Circuit rejected the case on the grounds that private groups can’t bring lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act, which is a sharp departure from the 60-year history of the act. The Eighth Circuit didn’t even reach the merits of the redistricting issue.
Under the 2010 plan one legislative district was a single county (Rolette) that mostly consisted of a single reservation. In North Dakota each legislative district (usually) elects one senator and two representatives. Because of population growth in other areas of the state, the legislative district had to be expanded, which reduced the Native VAP to less than 50%. The legislature split the legislative district in to two House subdistricts, one which was centered on the reservation.
The plaintiffs claimed that the legislature should have added another reservation to the legislative district connected by about 50 miles of rural territory.