Lower Brule takes Lyman County to Court
Lower Brule takes Lyman County to Court
By Joseph Budd
Native Sun News Today Staff Writer
Lyman County was taken to federal court on May 23, due to a delay in a redistricting plan to ensure a timely election of tribal candidates to the County Commission. According to the Lower Brule Tribe, the delay prevents them from electing two commissioners in the upcoming election, forcing the Tribe to wait until 2024 and 2026. Lyman County currently has an at-large election process which started in 1992. Candidates within the county can live anywhere within the county, and 38 percent of the county population as Native American. With the at-large elections, no Native American candidates have ever succeeded in winning a seat on the commission, according to the South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
To try and avoid a lawsuit, Lyman County and Lower Brule agreed that the county must establish two commissioner positions chosen by Native American voters. Last year in October, Lower Brule proposed five, single-candidate districts, two of them with a Native American majority and three with a white majority. According to plaintiffs, the scheme was legal under existing South Dakota law.
However in February, the Lyman County Commission enacted an ordinance establishing just two voting districts, one white with three commissioners and one Native American with two commissioners. The Commission also voted to delay the changes until after the next election, leaving the at-large system in play.
As a result, only one Native American commissioner could be elected in 2024, and the second one in 2026.
As of yet, Lyman County has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
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May 26, 2022