North Dakota tribes bring fight for voting rights to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (CN) — Two North Dakota tribes filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court on Tuesday to rescue a key provision of the Voting Rights Act protecting minority voters.

“Everywhere else in the country, private plaintiffs can rely on an unbroken line of Supreme Court and circuit precedent to enforce the individual rights given to them by Congress in the Voting Rights Act,” the tribes wrote. “But the decision below extinguished the only remaining pathway for private enforcement of Section 2 of the VRA in the Eighth Circuit.”

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe and three Native American voters urged the justices to pause a federal appeals court ruling holding that private plaintiffs can not sue to uphold Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Section 2 bans racial discrimination against voters, serving as the backbone to many challenges to discriminatory redistricting plans that dilute the voting power of minority voters.

The tribes challenged North Dakota’s 2021 state legislative redistricting plan under Section 2, claiming the plan diluted the votes of Native Americans. However, North Dakota’s secretary of state moved to dismiss the case, arguing that only the Department of Justice can sue for Section 2 violations.

A trial court held that North Dakota’s map discriminated against Native American voters in violation of Section 2. However, the Eighth Circuit foreclosed relief, finding no path for private parties to enforce the landmark statute.

The tribes asked the Supreme Court to pause the appeals court’s ruling, warning that it kneecaps Congress’ most important civil rights statute.

“Citizens in the Eighth Circuit’s seven states now have fewer enforceable rights and protections against racial discrimination in voting than citizens in the rest of the nation,” the tribes wrote. “That result is unjust, untenable, and requires action by this court.”

Over 400 Section 2 claims have been brought since 1982. The Eighth Circuit’s ruling would upend decades of precedent in appeals courts across the nation and the Supreme Court.

“Section 2 is, and always has been, enforced primarily by private litigants,” the tribes wrote. “From 1982 through August 2024, ‘private plaintiffs have been party to 96.4% of Section 2 claims that produced published opinions … and the sole litigants in 86.7% of these decisions.’”

If allowed to take effect, Collette Brown, one of the voters involved in the case, could be ejected from her seat on the North Dakota Legislature. North Dakota’s legislative map must be set by Dec. 31, and without a stay, the discriminatory maps would be reinstated for the 2026 election.

The Supreme Court requested a response by July 22.

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