Today’s Links
Articles:
Native American Rights Fund (NARF) – LOWER BRULE SIOUX TRIBE VOTERS WIN CRUCIAL LEGAL VICTORY IN VOTING RIGHTS CASE
Associated Press – Judge tells Lyman County to work with tribe on election plan
U.S. District Court – Court Order in LOWER BRULE SIOUX TRIBE vs. Lyman County
Groups Taking Action:
Native American Rights Fund, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Here’s an important story we missed from last week. A Native American tribe in South Dakota won a victory in federal court, forcing implementation of a fairer voting district system and representation for its members, after enduring years of a rigged system.
The Lower Brule Sioux reservation accounts for 40% of the population of Lyman County, South Dakota. Yet the at-large voting system in Lyman County made sure that it was unlikely the tribe could elect members to the County Commission. In the 2020 redistricting, Native American voting rights groups advocated for the creation of voting districts giving Native voters an opportunity to select two of the five county commissioners in order to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Problem is, by 2022, the districts still had not been implemented due to foot-dragging by the County Commission. A suit was filed in May by the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, and the judge ordered the redistricting plan to be implemented. In the order, Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange wrote: “…the effect of a single county-wide district has been to create a system where the County’s white majority can and largely has blocked election of Native-preferred candidates.”
The court ordered the County Commission to present a plan, and if they did not, the Court would implement one for them. Without advocacy by the Native American Rights Fund and others, justice would not have been served.
See articles on this case and links to the organizations taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org Granny D said, Democracy is not something we HAVE, it’s something we DO.”
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.