Overview:
Three Blaine County voters have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the county’s commissioner district map, alleging that population disparities violate the constitutional principle of one person, one vote and dilute the voting power of Native American residents.
Native Vote 2026
Three Blaine County voters have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the county’s commissioner district map, alleging that unequal population distribution across the three districts violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and diminishes the voting power of Native American residents.
Represented by the UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) and Helena-based Upper Seven Law, the plaintiffs are seeking a new district map that ensures equal representation among Blaine County voters.
The lawsuit centers on the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote,” which requires electoral districts to have roughly equal populations so that each resident’s vote carries comparable weight. According to the complaint, Blaine County’s current map creates significant population disparities, leaving its most populous district with substantially less voting power per resident than its least populous district.
District 1, which is 94.9% American Indian, is reportedly overpopulated by 16% and contains nearly 700 more residents than District 2, the county’s smallest and predominantly white district. District 2 is underpopulated by 12%, according to county figures cited in the complaint.
As a result, the plaintiffs allege that approximately 1.32 votes in District 1 carry the same electoral weight as one vote in District 2, creating an unequal distribution of political representation.
“The weight of a person’s vote should not depend on which side of a district line they live on,” said Sonni Waknin, senior voting rights counsel at the VRP. “Blaine County’s map goes against the principles of our representative government. We are asking the Court to enforce the Constitution and require districts that give voters an equal voice in their county government.”
Longtime Blackfeet voting rights activist Tom Rodgers (One Who Rides His Horse East) draws parallels between the loss of Native American voting rights and the historical injustices inflicted on Indigenous peoples.
“Their ancestors took our land, they took our children, they destroyed our spiritual sustenance, the bison. They have always stolen our vote and thus now is the time for a moral and legal reckoning,” Rodgers told Native News Online.
Blaine County adopted its district-based commissioner system in 2002 after a federal court determined that the county’s previous at-large election system diluted American Indian voting strength. However, county officials have since interpreted that earlier ruling as requiring the preservation of the districts’ racial composition.
The plaintiffs argue that this interpretation is incorrect and that the county’s 2024 redistricting plan retained boundaries established in 2013 despite population changes. According to the complaint, those decisions have perpetuated and worsened population disparities between districts.
Molly Danahy, litigation director at Upper Seven Law, emphasized the importance of equal representation in local government.
“The right to vote is the starting premise of our free society–it ensures that we, the people, can hold our government accountable to the rule of law,” Danahy said. “Districts that violate the basic principle that every vote should count the same are unconstitutional. Blaine County’s Commissioner map must distribute power equally among its voters.”
The plaintiffs are asking the federal court to declare the current district map unconstitutional, prohibit its use in the 2028 elections and any subsequent elections, and require the county to adopt a new plan that equalizes district populations.
The defendants include Blaine County, its county commissioners and county election officials.
