{"id":36739,"date":"2024-01-27T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/court-orders-north-dakota-to-adopt-natives-proposed-voter-districts\/"},"modified":"2024-01-27T06:00:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T11:00:32","slug":"court-orders-north-dakota-to-adopt-natives-proposed-voter-districts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/court-orders-north-dakota-to-adopt-natives-proposed-voter-districts\/","title":{"rendered":"Court orders North Dakota to adopt Native\u2019s proposed voter districts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tribes welcome end of state\u2019s stonewalling<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U.S. District Court has ordered North Dakota to adopt two tribes\u2019 proposed redistricting maps, ending state officials\u2019 delays on voting rights compliance. Native leaders welcomed the ruling that prevents dilution of American Indian polling power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court properly recognized the voting strength of our tribal members must not be diluted,\u201d said Jamie Azure, chair of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. \u201cWhen I testified in favor of a fair redistricting plan to the members of the Legislature during the 2021 redistricting process, my words were ignored,\u201d he said in a\u00a0Native American Rights Fund statement<\/a>\u00a0Jan. 9. \u201cIt is unfortunate that litigation was required in order for a lawful plan to be put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa\u2019s Chairman Jamie Azure. (Courtesy Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe \u2013 together with individual tribal citizens \u2013 have been battling with North Dakota in this federal case since the state\u2019s 2021 Redistricting Plan. The plan would have crammed the majority of the Turtle Mountain Band citizens into a single House subdistrict, 9A. A part of the band would have been split into another House subdistrict, 9B.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the same time, Spirit Lake tribal citizens would all be in House District 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new map, which Chief Judge Peter D. Welte ordered on Jan. 8, is the same redistricting plan the tribes proposed to the Legislature and were refused in 2021.<\/p>\n

Jamie Azure, Chairman of the Turtle Mountain Tribe<\/p>\n

According to a\u00a0background brief<\/a>\u00a0by NARF, North Dakota tribal citizens have been fighting for their right to vote since suffrage became legal for them in 1924, the Native American Rights Fund said in the blog post. It said state policies in place since 1958 have created obstacles to election access.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor so many years, generation after generation, Native people have had to defend their right to vote in North Dakota,\u201d said Spirit Lake Tribal Chair Lonna J. Street. \u201cThis court order marks a milestone closer to the day when Native people participate in redistricting and in elections as equals to our non-Native neighbors,\u201d she said in the post.<\/p>\n

The 2021 voter boundary plan put tribal members on the two reservations at a disadvantage, according to NARF. During the mapping process, the tribes said North Dakota Legislature\u2019s redistricting committee refused to hold public meetings on or near reservations and ignored testimony from tribal leaders. American Indian voters were left without a say in the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of creating fair boundaries as outlined in the Voting Rights Act, the map adopted by the North Dakota Legislature in 2021 silences Native American voters on every issue, lowers the chance Native voters could elect a candidate they feel best represents their community, and prevents communities in these splintered districts from receiving a fair share of public resources,\u201d former Spirit Lake Tribe Chair Douglas Yankton, Sr., said in the brief.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Judge Welte denied North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe\u2019s repeated motions to dismiss in\u00a0Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Alvin Jaeger\u00a0and in\u00a0Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Michael Howe.<\/p>\n

In November 2023 Welte\u00a0ruled North Dakota\u2019s legislative maps discriminate against American Indian voters<\/a>\u00a0by not providing them an equal voice. In December he rejected the Secretary of State\u2019s request to delay adopting a new map.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tribal plaintiffs\u2019 hard-fought victory means Native American voters in North Dakota will be able to vote in fairly and lawfully drawn legislative districts in this year\u2019s elections,\u201d said Native American Rights Fund Staff Attorney Michael Carter.<\/p>\n

(Contact Adrianna Adame at \u00a0adrianna@imfreedomalliance.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The post Court orders North Dakota to adopt Native\u2019s proposed voter districts<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

Tribes welcome end of state\u2019s stonewalling \u00a0 The U.S. District Court has ordered North Dakota to adopt two tribes\u2019 proposed redistricting maps, ending state officials\u2019 delays on voting rights compliance. Native leaders welcomed the ruling that prevents dilution of American Indian polling power. \u201cThe court properly recognized the voting strength <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> January 27, 2024<\/p>\n

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