MINOT, N.D. – A federal judge has implemented a new legislative district map on North Dakota, following a lawsuit that claimed the previous map did not adequately represent Native American voters. While some are celebrating this as a victory for voting rights, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the state’s political landscape.
The lawsuit argued that the districts were gerrymandered because Native Americans were not proportionally represented in the Legislature. However, it should be noted that the previous map, which was also designed to increase Native American representation, successfully elected two Native American women.
The process that led to this court-ordered map has been criticized. The judge gave the state’s lawmakers just 35 days to develop a new map after declaring the previous one invalid. This short deadline was especially challenging considering lawmakers had to navigate legal options, appeal the ruling, and convene a session to approve the new map.
Furthermore, the metric used to assess gerrymandering based on proportional representation is crude and oversimplified. It is a requirement of the flawed Voting Rights Act but does not necessarily reflect a fair assessment of representation.
Despite ongoing appeals by state officials, the court’s decision stands, and North Dakotans now have a new legislative district map created by plaintiffs’ lawyers and a judge, rather than their elected representatives.
In conclusion, while the implementation of a new legislative district map in North Dakota may be viewed as a victory for voting rights, it is unlikely to create significant changes in the state’s political landscape. The process leading to this map has faced criticism for its tight timeline and oversimplified metric for assessing gerrymandering. Nonetheless, the court’s decision stands, and the state is obliged to comply with the new map.