BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe announced Tuesday that his office will appeal the ruling of a federal court judge which found that the state’s redistricting plan violated the voting rights of certain tribes.
The announcement comes in the wake of a significant decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday which found that private litigants are not permitted to bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
A three-judge panel of the appeals court considered a 2022 ruling from an Arkansas federal judge that only the U.S. Attorney General is empowered to file lawsuits under the VRA’s Section 2, a provision which prohibits voting rules that are racially discriminatory. In a 2-1 decision the panel upheld the lower court’s order. Experts say the decision would significantly hamper use of the Voting Rights Act to challenge ballot access, voting rules, and redistricting.
Howe cited the appeals court’s ruling in a statement Tuesday, and said he consulted with Attorney General Drew Wrigley and North Dakota’s legislative leadership in making the decision to appeal last Friday’s ruling by Chief Judge Peter Welte.
Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan called the 8th Circuit’s decision “legally dubious,” and said the state should accept Welte’s ruling and work to adopt new districts that conform with the Voting Rights Act.
