- Details
- By Neely Bardwell
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a Republican lawsuit alleging that North Dakota engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering when it created two majority-Native American legislative districts.
Following the 2020 census, North Dakota State House created two State House subdistricts, 4A and 9A, along the boundaries of tribal reservations. Districts 4 and 9 span the Fort Berthold Reservation and the Turtle Mountain Reservation. Reservation residents are concentrated in subdistricts 4A and 9A, while 4B and 9B cover the districts' non-Native populations.
In February 2022, Republican Party officials Doug Olson and David Andahl sued the state, arguing that the redistricting prioritized race and violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
While North Dakota initially defended the districts, citing compliance with the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the state later aligned with the GOP arguments and called on courts to determine the scope of the VRA.
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Spirit Lake Tribe, and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA) defended the new districts. In November 2023, a three-judge district court granted summary judgment in favor of the tribes, the districts’ legality.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case upholds the lower court’s ruling that North Dakota’s Native American majority districts are legal under the VRA. The decision affirms that states can consider race when drawing district lines to protect minority voting rights.
Republican-led states and officials oppose using race as a predominant factor in redistricting. The VRA’s Section 2 protects minority voters from discrimination and allows challenges to district maps that reduce their voting power.
States sometimes try to dilute Native American voting strength by splitting tribal communities into different districts. The law requires states to draw district lines that give Native Americans and other minorities a fair chance to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice.
Historically, Native American communities in North Dakota have faced barriers like geographic isolation, socioeconomic challenges, and systemic discrimination when it comes to voting and representation. The new North Dakota State House Districts 4A and 9A were drawn to ensure Natives living on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, and nearby areas have a meaningful say in elections.
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