A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request to delay his decision supporting two Native American tribes that sought changes to North Dakota's legislative boundaries to give the tribes more influence in the Legislature.
U.S. District Chief Judge Peter Welte denied Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe’s motion to stay his ruling, pending an expected appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last month, Welte ruled that the map violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in that it “prevents Native American voters from having an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice." He gave Howe and the Republican-controlled Legislature until Dec. 22 "to adopt a plan to remedy the violation.”
Days after the Nov. 17 ruling, Howe announced his plans to appeal, citing a recent 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that private individuals and groups such as the NAACP can’t sue under a major section of the landmark civil rights law.
Last week, a top legislative panel voted to intervene, or join in the lawsuit, but Welte denied a motion that lawmakers filed Friday.
The Legislature's redistricting panel is meeting for the first time in over two years on Wednesday to begin addressing Welte's November ruling.
Howe and legislative leaders didn't immediately respond to phone messages for comment on the ruling.
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe had alleged the 2021 redistricting map “simultaneously packs Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians members into one house district, and cracks Spirit Lake Tribe members out of any majority Native house district.”
The two tribes sought a joint district and unsuccessfully proposed to the Legislature a single legislative district encompassing the two reservations, which are roughly 60 miles (97 kilometers) apart.
North Dakota has 47 legislative districts, each with one senator and two representatives. Republicans control the House of Representatives 82-12 and the Senate 43-4. At least two lawmakers, both House Democrats, are members of tribes.
The Legislature created four subdistricts in the state House, including one each for the Fort Berthold and Turtle Mountain Indian reservations.
Lawmakers who were involved in the 2021 redistricting process have previously cited 2020 census numbers meeting population requirements of the Voting Rights Act for creating those subdistricts.
