Voting and Redistricting Lawsuit News
 Back to Voting Rights and Redistricting Lawsuit News
S.D. settles ACLU lawsuit
Posted by ErthAvenger to NDN AIM
http://rapidcityjournal.com
Nov. 8, 2002
SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- South Dakota and the American Civil Liberties Union have
agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit that accused officials of ignoring a
federal law that protects minorities, such as American Indians, from voting
discrimination.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Rapid
City on behalf of officials and members of the Oglala and Rosebud Sioux
tribes. The suit sought to enforce Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which
requires approval of election-law changes in Shannon and Todd counties either
by the Justice Department or U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
In 1976, the U.S. attorney general determined that proposed laws and
regulations that have affected voters in Shannon and Todd counties since Nov.
1, 1972, must be approved by federal officials or judges. The ACLU claimed
that South Dakota officials have sought approval of election changes fewer
than 10 times since then. The group's lawsuit challenged about 600 laws and
regulations passed since Nov. 1, 1972.
"This historic settlement will remove some of the discriminatory barriers
Native Americans have faced at the ballot box and ensure that their voting
rights will be better protected in the future," Bryan Sells, an attorney with
the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said.
Under the settlement, which now must be approved by a three-judge panel in
federal court, the state must get approval from the Justice Department on any
changes in voting practices enacted after Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
took effect.
The settlement also calls for the state to refrain from implementing two
statutes that ACLU attorneys said were harmful to Indians.
State elections supervisor and Secretary of state-elect Chris Nelson said the
lawsuit was unnecessary and that no one ever had voiced concerns to the state
before the suit was filed.
"This lawsuit came at us without anyone ever talking to us about the issue,"
Nelson said. "And no one had ever claimed or alleged any type of
discrimination."
home : mission statement : contact : site map : search : store : links
DLN coalition : DLN issues : DLN nation : related issues Any reprints are under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law : See http://www.dlncoalition.org/fair_use.htm.
|
